Intertwine Dreams
by FireHybrid
Summary: Imagine being put in a world with creatures of your own creation, and that's basically what's happened to me. Read my other story, New Beginning, to get an idea of Hybrids before you read this. I'm so, so sorry for the delay, but 6 is ready! Enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or any of the other copyrighted material in this story. I do, however, own a 1995 Gateway which I keep my stories on (You'll have to read on to understand…), and I own myself (I should hope.), and most of the other characters in this story. This is also told from my POV.

New readers to this story should probably read my other major story, "New Beginning" to have an idea of what's happening here.

Thanks to Tygerwind, PokeBobVaporeon, Scott, The_Seraph and AuitzogChernobyl for all their help in this. 

NEW: Intertwine Dreams has a website! It's http://www.khat-fox.com/~pocket-people/. Also, my explanation for pulling the 2nd and 3rd chapters of ID here is at the bottom of the story.

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**_INTERTWINE DREAMS_**

Change. It's something we often take for granted. After all, we change all the time. We change our hair, our clothes, our minds; hell, we can change pretty much whatever we want about ourselves. What happens though, when change affects everyone? Not just people you know, but the entire world. Still, no big deal, right? What could happen that could change the entire world? 

Now, let's take this concept a bit further. Say now that a change is so great, not only has it has affected the entire world, only you and a select few others know of the change. When you try to convince other people that this new change wasn't around before, they look at you like you're nuts. To them, whatever change you realized is something they believe has been around forever. They may even tell you of false memories they have of whatever changed from long ago.

If you find this to be unbelievable, trust me, I know the experience. It's like when I try to convince people nowadays that Pokémon and Hybrids didn't exist at one point in time. Most people think I'm nuts. If you don't think I'm a moron, then maybe you too, realize the world I once knew, where Pokémon was just part of a highly popular video game, and Hybrids were just something I wrote a story about, then please, read on. I'll try my best to explain why everything is so different, and why I'm the one to blame for it all.

It all started on what seemed like a normal Sunday. I was asleep in bed, trying to ignore the sounds of my neighbors yelling at their kids. After about an hour, though, I just had to give in to the whining and the screaming. 

"10:30 A.M?" I moaned. Geez, it's early… I hate when I have to get up early on the weekend, but hey, life sucks like that.

For anyone who doesn't know me personally, I look pretty much like Dan from, "A New Beginning", but I weigh a little more, I'm a little taller, and I'm fifteen going on sixteen, not thirteen. 

Anyway, on this early Sunday morning, I finally got my lazy ass out of bed, threw on some clothes and headed downstairs to look for breakfast. I noticed no one else was home. My one brother was probably at work, and the other one was probably at camp (he runs a Boy Scout camp. My brothers are also both twenty-two, just so you know.), Mom would be at church, and Dad…maybe he had to run to the store.

After throwing some bacon on a pan and tossing it in the microwave, I went to look for the paper. Of course; no one bought it in! How can I read my comics if the paper isn't even in the house?! And people call _me _lazy…

Sighing, I put on my shoes and ran out to the mailbox to get the paper. Funny, I thought, picking it up. This feels heavier than usual, even for a Sunday paper…

Hauling the paper back in, I dumped it on the dining room table and looked through the junk to find the comics. Here we go…what the hell?, I thought as a big packet, the comics folded over it, fell out and landed on top of the rest of the junk. I picked it up and studied it. Hey, it's got the Nintendo label on it! Wonder what's in it.

I opened it and pulled out what looked like a Game Boy. It was bigger, though, and where there should've been a screen, there was a cover that popped open when I pressed on it. There was also no slot in the back to put games in. A bunch of wires also came out of the packet, as well as a booklet. Putting down the Game Boy like device, I picked up the booklet and glanced through it.

"Congratulations!" it proudly announced. "You've been randomly selected to field test our new online adapter for your Game Boy! With this, you'll be able to play all your multi-player Game Boy games online with other people across the world. The best part is, this attachment is compatible with any computer…"

"Any computer?" Yes! This meant I could still play it on the only computer in the house; a piece of crap 1995 Gateway. Great!

Forgetting about the bacon in the microwave, I ran upstairs and immediately hooked up the new attachment. After installing everything (which ate up a lot of the less-than-two gig memory), I eventually found my way over to the Game Boy Online main screen. 

After registering as FireHybrid, I went to the list of games and checked out the numbers. Surprise, surprise; almost everyone was in the Pokémon room. The number on the side of the room read over two hundred people.

I opened the cover of the adapter, slipped in my Silver Version and closed it. Soon, I was in a large chat room. There seemed to be a lot of people talking about the same thing.

**Chat Logs**

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Ditto Girl **I'm telling you, this is no conspiracy!**

Eggecutor **I'm telling you, it's the truth! Something's going to happen, I know it!**

The_Seraph **Eggecutor, you're making no sense!**

FireHybrid **Hey guys, what's up?**

Eggecutor **FireHybrid, listen to me! You have to get out of here, now!**

The_Seraph **Hey FireHybrid**.

FireHybrid **What are you talking about Eggecutor?**

Ditto Girl **This guy thinks something bad is going to happen if we use this new attachment.**

Eggecutor **Look, I saw it on the web! This thing isn't safe!**

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If it's so unsafe, then why are you here moron?, I thought. Right-clicking on Eggecutors name, I clicked Ignore. There, now I don't have to listen to that idiot.

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More Chat Logs

FireHybrid **Anyway…Seraph, you don't happen to be the same Seraph who wrote, "Cold and Blue" on Fanfiction.net?**

The_Seraph **Yeah, I did. Hey…FireHybrid…as in the one who writes, "A New Beginning" on Fanfiction.net and goes to the same school as me?**

FireHybrid **Yeah, that's me. Geez, of all the places to meet…**

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An announcement flashed across the screen, telling us that we could battle now. Three seconds later, a challenge appeared from Seraph for a fight. She set for randomized Pokémon, which was good, since her team was a lot more developed than mine was.

"Alright, let's go!" A quick click of the accept button, and we were taken to a separate screen. It was divided into two halves, with six boxes in each half. FireHybrid was next to the upper boxes, and The_Seraph was next to the lower boxes.

"Randomizing first Pokémon…" a little pop-up screen said.

A Vulpix appeared in one of the lower boxes, and a Growlithe appeared in one of the upper boxes.

"Randomizing second Pokémon…"

We waited…and waited…and waited. What's going on? Did it freeze?

"Scanning hard drive…"

"What?"

"Searching for anti-virus system…system found…system deleted…"

"No! You shouldn't do that!" I yelled at the computer. Why was it doing this?

"Reformatting hard drive…"

"My story!" Ah! I just lost all seventeen chapters I had saved on there! Quickly, I tried to eject out the disk in the disk drive that had all my chapters saved on there, as well.

"Disk cannot be retrieved at this time…" the textbox now read.

"Try and stop…hey!" The disk had came out of the drive slightly, but when I tried to pull it out the rest of the way, it went right back in the drive! I tried to push the button again to eject it, but it didn't work!

"Scanning disk…collecting information…"

"What's going on?!" I asked no one in particular. "This thing is supposed to work with any computer!"

"Virus has infected computer…" 

"Virus!" My computer had been taken over by a virus! Grabbing the booklet that came with the adapter, I flipped to the opening.

"Congratulations…randomly selected…games online…works on any computer…"

_THEN_ I looked at the next page.

"…made within the last two years…"

"Sending information to all computers on network…"

No! The virus is spreading! I dove down to the hard drive tower to shut off the power. However, as soon as I was about to press the power button, a bolt of electricity shot from the tower and shocked me.

"Yeow!" I yelped, blowing on my shocked finger.

"Information sent…file overload…computer breakdown…self-destruct sequence activated…"

"SELF-DESTRUCT!"

A counter appeared on the screen, starting at ten. It slowly counted down, but it wasn't till it hit one that it occurred to me that maybe I should've run. At zero, all I could do was throw up my arms in front of my face to protect it.

BOOM!

The entire computer exploded. I mean _exploded. _The glass from the monitor cut me all over as it shattered into a million pieces. Pieces of the hard drive tower hit me pretty hard, but luckily, nothing was broken. What worried me most, though, was the giant fireball. A huge ball of flame engulfed me in the explosion, and it felt…well, really hot. Fire surrounded me for about five seconds before it died down. The weird thing was, I wasn't burnt or hurt by the fire in any way.

"Weir…oh man!" I forgot about the fireball when I saw the smoking remains of the hard drive tower. It was just a pile of black, smoking pieces now. The monitor, besides having all the glass blown out of it, looked more or less intact, minus the black smudges all around it.

Geez, was that smoke thick…I stumbled out of the computer room, through the hallway, and into my room. The smoke already had filled the computer room and almost the entire hallway by the time I closed the door to my room.

I coughed again, thinking about what was left of the computer. Fuck, I thought. Mom and Dad are going to be _so_ pissed when they find out I blew up the computer. We don't have the money for a new one, but we need one badly. They'll probably make me empty out my life savings to pay for it…

I still don't know exactly why I passed out on my bed. Maybe it was the thought of releasing a virus to hundreds of people and probably blowing up their computers. Maybe it was the smoke I inhaled combined with the injuries I suffered. Maybe it was the thought of what my parents were going to do to me when they realized what I did.

Funny thing was, by the time I woke up, not having a computer was nothing compared to how bad the virus I released was changing the entire world…

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"Xavier, get out of bed this instant!"

Good grief, that was loud. Almost makes me wish I didn't leave open the windows. Still, it's summer, and I'd rather have to deal with a few loud neighbors yelling at their kids than sweat to death during the night.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

"Xavier, you've been in bed all morning. Get up!"

"Wha…?" I moaned, still half-asleep. It was coming from outside my room? "Mom?"

"About time," the voice outside my door called out. "Get up and get out of bed this instant!"

Xavier? What the hell is going on here? That's not my name! I was barely able to look up at my clock radio to read the time. It blinked Monday, 11:21 a.m. Damn, I was out for a whole day?

Still half-asleep, I coughed to clear my throat. Something had lodged itself in there, and it was annoying. I coughed and coughed, but whatever was in it refused to come out, and it was really bothering me. 

"Are you O.K?" Mom called out. Her voice sounded different than before. Familiar, but different. I ignored it. After all, I was barely awake, and everything sounded different. My voice, for example, sounded unnaturally deep, even for a guy.

"Fine! -hack!- Just a little -hack!- cough." I managed to get out. The last time this happened, I had to stay home from school because I eventually threw up, I coughed so hard. Finally, after about twenty seconds of trying, I coughed up what was bothering me.

WHOOSH!

There was a feeling of something large and hot in my mouth, then a fireball came flying out of my mouth. Yes, a _fireball_. It flew out the window where I was looking at the time. I watched it fly out and travel quite a distance before it died out. Damn, I could've gotten a lot more distance on that…wait a minute…

"Holy shit!" I just coughed up a fireball! That would wake anyone up, including me.

"Did I just hear an Ember?" Mom asked.

"Ember? I…uh…er…"

"Maybe you'd better make sure Houndor is feeling alright." 

"I…Houndor? A Pokémon? Why would it cause it?"

"Well, he is part fire-type, isn't he?"

"Well…yeah, but…Pokemon aren't real!"

"Don't be silly. Of course they are!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I called out. Did Mom go nuts on me?

"Is it time to get up?" a new voice asked.

"Not now, Houndor!" I said, looking down at the floor quickly. "Mom, Pokémon are…not…real?" Slowly I looked back down at the floor.

There was a Houndor on the floor, looking up at me. He was small, compared to the Houndor's I saw on the cartoon. He must've been a baby.

Looking around, I saw there were Pokemon all over my room. There was a Dragoniar curled up on my desk, as well as an Eevee fast asleep on the chair. A Nidorino slept on a small pillow in one corner of the room. A Feraligater was moving around at the foot of my bed, and a Furret was laid out across the shelf above my bed. It didn't occur to me until later that this was my team from my Silver Version. 

Well, this is one weird dream, I thought. I have Pokémon in my room, and so far, they've been speaking English. Forget the fact I just coughed up a fireball and Mom thinks Pokémon are real. Might as well play along. What's the worse that could happen?

"Yeah…sorry about that, Mom." I called out. "Guess I was a little more tired than I thought."

I turned over and sat up, feeling the covers across my body fall away. Yawning, I stretched out my arms. Hmm…why does everything look smaller? Ah, don't worry about it. It's probably nothing.

Putting down my arms, I ran a hand across my face. Man, I gotta shave. I've got hair all over my face. It's on my neck, the sides of my face…_my forehead?_

For the first time since waking up, I stopped to look at my hands. My hands were a little bigger than before, and covered in thick, groomed snow-white fur! I could also feel the roughness of my palms and fingerprints. They felt like…pads?

"What the fuck…" I muttered, looking at myself from the waist up. My chest and stomach were covered in more of the white fur, and the rest of my body was covered in red fur with black stripes in odd zigzag patterns. Not only that, I could feel all my muscles were noticeably bigger. Not super-huge, mind you, but enough to be just seen under all the thick fur that covered me. This was a shock, since I'd never been very physical at all, but now it looked like I'd worked out for a while. Of course, I was confused as to why I was covered in fur in the first place, but I sure didn't mind the added size.

Kicking off the covers onto Feraligater, I swung my legs around and sat on the edge of my bed. I was wearing a pair of jeans, but no socks or anything, which allowed me to see the weirdest part of my body yet; my feet. Like my hands, chest and stomach, they were covered in white fur. Everything looked human about them (minus the fur) until you got to the toes. For some reason, I only had four toes, and the two in the middle of each foot were larger than the ones on the sides. Actually, they looked canine-like, almost the same as the Houndor's toes. Feeling along the bottom of my feet, I felt pads like the ones on my hands.

"Xavier, come out here and eat something!" Mom yelled again. Why the hell does she keep calling me that?!

"Just a sec…" I started off into my bathroom in my neighboring room. God only knows what else has changed…

Let me explain something about my room here. There are two doors to my room. One leads in through the hallway. Another leads into my bathroom, which has another door that leads to the hallway. Mom was banging on the hallway door in my room, so I knew it was safe to go to the bathroom without her seeing me.

Anyway, I went into the bathroom, which still looked the same (as did my room), and stood in front of the mirror. Leaning against the sink, I blinked a few times, still trying to decide if what I was seeing was right. The Growlithe in the mirror had the same look of confusion as I did. There was nothing human about my face; it's like someone chopped off my head and put a Growlithe's in its place. I could also see now the front of my neck was covered in white fur while being red and black around the rest of it.

"Xavier, what are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, coming…" I shook off my funk and went to the hallway door in my room. Maybe this is some kind of sign or something. Maybe it means I should take a break from my story. Then again, it could also mean I should keep going wi…

WHACK!

"Growl!" I yelped, accidentally whacking my foot against the door banister. I hopped over on one foot to my bed, then sat down, blowing on my sore foot.

"Are you alright?" Mom asked through the door.

"Fine, just hurt…my…foot?" Wait a minute…I hurt myself…in a dream…but people can't be hurt in dreams…so that meant…this wasn't a dream…

"OH MY GOD!" This was real! Everything! Everything was real! The Pokémon were real! I was really a Growlithe Hybrid! Holy shit, this was real!

"Xavier! What's going on in there?" Mom yelled worriedly.

"Nothing!" I frantically shouted back. Nothing? Nothing?! I'm a creature of my own imagination! Video game inspired creatures are real! Nothing's wrong?! "Just…realized I have something important to do!"

"Alright…but hurry up in there!" I heard her yell before she walked away.

"What was that all about?" the Houndor asked me after Mom left.

"What was that all about?! You're a Pokémon! You're real!" I pointed out.

"And…?" Houndor seemed to feel like this should be an obvious fact.

"But…it's just a video game!"

"Video game? What's that?" 

"It's a special kind of game that people use machines to play with." Furret said, hopping down off the shelf onto my bed.

"Yeah, thanks Furret…" I thought about what I just said for a second, then shook my head and moaned. "Oh God…"

"What's wrong?" Furret asked, walking over to my side.

"I'm insane, that's what's wrong!"

"Insane?" Houndor asked as the other Pokémon slowly began to rise. "What's that?"

"Insane. Nuts. Dead in the head. Bonkers. Loony." I said, moaning again. What the hell is going on here? This shouldn't be happening!

"I still don't understand…" Houndor said, even more confused.

"He thinks he's…sick in the head." Furret explained.

"Like a headache?"

"No…not quite like a headache."

"Hey, can I get some help over here?" a rough voice called out from under the pile of blankets.

"What? Yeah, sure." I reached over and undid the blankets around Feraligater. When I first got a look at him, something inside me cried out, "Ah! Water-type! Keep it away, keep it away!", but at the same time, another part of me said, "What the hell am I getting all excited about? I train him. We're friends. He won't hurt me."

"Oh geez..." I train Pokémon? And how'd I know Feraligater was a male? This was too much information to take in all at once. I laid out fully on my bed, forcing Furret to move on down to the floor. Staring up at the ceiling, I tried to figure out how in the world something like this could've happened.

"Maybe he _is _sick." Furret wondered out loud.

"He was fine yesterday…" Houndor pointed out.

"Yesterday?" I called down. "What are you talking about?"

"You know. We got up, went out back to train, went to the Center, ate some lunch, rented a video…"

Houndor went on for a minute like this, recalling all of yesterday's events I knew never happened. I'm nuts, I finally concluded. There was no other logical explanation for this. I've finally lost my marbles. I always bet it was one of my uncles that lose it first, but I've never been a good gambler…

"…and after that, we came home. That's it." 

"Huh? Yeah, sure." Probably shouldn't have tuned him out like that…him? There I go again, just knowing Houndor was a male, too. Now all the other Pokémon came over and joined the others by the side of my bed. What the hell, I thought. Might as well get used to this. If I am nuts, I might as well enjoy myself.

"Come on guys," I said, sitting up. "Let's go get something to eat."

"Uh…shouldn't you shift forms first?" Nidorino suggested.

"Shift forms?"

"You know. Become human? Your Mom will go nuts if she sees you like that!" Feraligater said.

"All right, if you say so…" How exactly do I go about doing that? Well…in my story, if a Hybrid concentrated on their human form, they'd become human, if they ever _were_ human.

"Wait," I realized. "Won't it be kinda pointless? I mean, I'll become this again in five minutes, won't I?"

"Of course not!" Dragoniar said, slithering on top of my bed. "You've been a Hybrid since you were seven! You can be human for days at a time!"

"Seven?!"

"Yes! Don't you remember all those stories you told us about how your Mom thought about getting counseling for you because you were trying to hide the fact you were a Hybrid? You got in trouble so much with school trying not to let anyone know, you almost had to repeat the second grade!" 

"*sigh* If you say so…" Good God, this was confusing. What else could happen…

"Xavier! Get out here, now!"

"Come on, Fire Storm!" Houndor said quickly. "Shift back!"

"All right alr…Fire Storm?" Now I was beyond confused. "I thought my name was Xavier."

"Xavier is your human name! Fire Storm is your Hybrid name!" Eevee squeaked.

I moaned and shook my head. Man, this was too much to deal with all at once. I tried to ignore everything that had been happening and concentrate on what I used to look like as a human. Hopefully, I still did.

"Dragoniar!" 

"What is it?" I said in minor frustration, looking at Dragoniar.

"Dragoniar!" she repeated, looking at the lock on the knob. She…O.K., so Dragoniar was a girl.

"You want me to unlock it?" She nodded. Now? I just started to shift! What was she thinking? I sighed and looked at my pink skinned, furless hands. All right, back to work with…huh? Geez, I thought, looking myself over and seeing I was my normal human self, that was fast!

Furret must have noticed my hesitation, for she ran past me and leapt at the doorknob. She caught the lock and managed to turn it as she fell. As soon as she hit the floor, Mom opened the door, causing the door to catch Furret and pin her against the wall. 

"Goodness, Xavier!" Mom said, not seeing she was crushing Furret. "It sounds like you're having a party in here!"

"Party? Mom…Mom?" For the first time since waking up, I saw the woman who claimed to be my mother. "Delilah?!"

"Delilah? Who's that?" I swear, she looks exactly like Delilah Ketchum! The hair, the eyes, the clothes…everything down to the smallest detail!

"Uh…no one." I mumbled stupidly. Where was my real mother? What happened to her? "Just…someone I know."

"Oh, a girl?" 'Mom', said in a classic "my little man is growing up!" kind of voice. "Is she nice?"

"Mom, please!" I moaned. "Look, I'll be out in a minute, O.K.?"

"Alright…but I wanted to tell you I'm going to be out late tonight. I need to do a lot of work." 

"O.K., if you say so…can I get changed here?" She looked confused for a few seconds, but she finally got it and left. After I instructed all my Pokémon to wait in the bathroom, I changed into some fresh clothes.

As I changed clothes, I tried to figure out if I had everything straight here. Pokémon are real, Hybrids are real, my mother looks like Delilah Ketchum, and I'm a Growlithe Hybrid. What the fuck is happening around here?!

After putting on a pair of jean shorts and a T-shirt, I opened the door to my bathroom and let out all of my Pokemon. Deciding they probably needed to be fed, I opened the door to the hallway and went downstairs (my room is on the second floor of the house.) and into the kitchen. Everything still looked the same around the house, except for the VidPhone sitting where a normal phone used to in the kitchen.

Opening the cabinet, I found various bags of Pokémon food. I fed them to the Pokémon, who seemed to enjoy it. Good, at least they weren't choking it down. I always worried that this food tasted really bad, but seeing how they enjoyed the food that claimed to be Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I guess that wasn't the case, even if it did look like dog food.

I got myself a bowl of real cereal and went into the adjacent dining room while I tried to figure out what was going on here. How could this happen? My mother is no longer who she should be, I haven't even seen the rest of my family, or any of my real pets. The real shock of the whole situation hadn't hit me yet, but was slowly seeping into my mind. I may never see my real family again… and what about my friends? Did they still exist? Not only that, but I have this furry, fire breathing beast sitting somewhere in my body, waiting to be let out. How the hell can I deal with all this?

After I ate my own breakfast, I tried calling all my friends to see if they realized something was wrong. Unfortunately, all their numbers either changed, or my friends didn't exist anymore, because all I got was, "The number you are calling does not exist" messages.

Going upstairs, I was about to head to my room. Maybe I could find something in there to help. I didn't know exactly what I was looking for here. Maybe a journal, a Pokédex; even a list of phone numbers would be better than nothing. I did find a Pokédex, but even that didn't have anything useful. I was about to head downstairs to try and figure out what to do. Well, at least I was going to do that…till I happened to glance in the computer room.

"Holy…" My computer looked perfectly fine, even after the explosion, till I realized it was a totally different computer. I ran over and examined it. My God…a hard drive that wasn't from five years ago, Pentium Four Processing, and the internet connection was up…DSL! I had a real computer!

Temporarily forgetting about my lost family (hey, having DSL after 5 years of 33.6 connection can do that!), I immediately jumped on the computer, my mind racing with what I should do first. Him…AOL apparently exists in this world, as the AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) icon sat in the corner of the screen by the little clock. Hey, if my friends are still around, maybe they're still on my list. Quickly, I clicked the icon, and on the login screen, entered my login name, HybridAuthor,(I was royally pissed when I first got AIM and learned someone already had FireHybrid!) and entered my buddy list. Him, five of them were on. Maybe they were looking for answers as wel…

Suddenly, I got messages from the five people all at the same time. It was all the same messages…

"FireHybrid! What the fuck is going on?!"

Well, not all the same. Tygerwind and PokeBobVaporeon, who helped me a bit with my story, replaced, "fuck" with, "heck", which didn't surprise me. They never swore in any of the times we chatted or talked in e-mails. 

"Guys, I don't know either!" I wrote back to all of them. I created a separate chat room, then sent them all invites to the room. Everyone bombarded me with questions and complaints as soon as they arrived. (Even though my AIM is HybridAuthor, I'm using my usual alias in its place as not to confuse people.) 

-Perhaps a little introduction is in order for everyone here. Tygerwind is one of my first and biggest fans. Pokebobvaporeon is always asking me questions about Hybrids and sending me info for my story. Scott is a guy who's on a Pokémon RPG with Pokebobvaporeon and me. AuitzogChernobyl is the guy who runs the RPG. Lastly, there's The_Seraph. She requires no introduction, though I must say she's not as insane in public as she is on the Internet…usually.

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Chat Logs

Tygerwind FireHybrid, what's going on?! 

PokeBobVaporeon How'd this happen?

Scott What's going on? Can someone explain?

FireHybrid Guys, I have no clue was going on!

AuitzogChernobyl Guys, I'm in trouble over here!

The_Seraph What the hell is going on!

FireHybrid Everyone, shut up for a minute! One at a time! Auitzog, what's wrong?

AuitzogChernobyl Well, there are Pokemon all over the place!

FireHybrid I know that! Anything life-threatening or altering?

AuitzogChernobyl Yeah, I'm a Flareon!

FireHybrid A Flareon?!

AuitzogChernobyl That's what I just said! I'm a bit larger than Flareon usually are, and I can stand and walk on my hind legs. The paws on my forelegs are also more hand than paw, complete with opposable thumb, but aside from those oddities, I'm a Flareon, through and through!

FireHybrid O.K., just calm down! Look, all you have to do is concentrate on your human self. You'll shift right back!

AuitzogChernobyl I can't!

FireHybrid What?!

AuitzogChernobyl I already tried it. Nothing happens!

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Oh no… AuitzogChernobyl is stuck as a Flareon? How could this happen? I figured if anything, he turn into a Hybrid like me! Well, he still is kind of a Hybrid. The way he's describing himself, though, it sounds like he's more Flareon than human, besides the fact he can't shift forms.

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FireHybrid AuitzogChernobyl…I really don't know what to say. Maybe there's something we can do to help you later. For now…I guess you'll just have to deal with it.

Pokebobvaporeon Can we talk… NOW?!

FireHybrid Bob, please be patient. This is very confusing for all of us!

Pokebobvaporeon Baka! We "will" talk now, or else I'll rip out your intestines!

FireHybrid Geez, calm down! What's with all the threatening?!

Pokebobvaporeon Oh sorry… bit of dark-rage there.

FireHybrid Dark-rage?

Pokebobvaporeon Yeah, I'm part Houndoom now. So as a Fire/Dark type I get pissed easy.

FireHybrid Oh…well, try to stay calm. We're all trying to figure this out as well.

Tygerwind You don't have to tell me that. 

FireHybrid Tyger, are you a Hybrid too?

Tygerwind Yeah, I'm a Persian Hybrid!

FireHybrid Great…Seraph! What about you?

The_Seraph I'm a Hybrid too. A Vulpix Hybrid.

FireHybrid Scott?

Scott Jolteon Hybrid.

FireHybrid Well, this is just fine…and I'm a Growlithe Hybrid, in case anyone cares.

AuitzogChernobyl What the hell is goi…

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Suddenly, a pop-up box came out of no where, telling me the Internet had been disconnected. Pissed off, I clicked to reconnect, but I was told that I didn't have a connection anymore.

"Damnit!" Great, I get DSL and I still can't keep the Internet up! Furious that I suddenly lost the connection with the only friends I had that were here and knew something was wrong, I stormed off to my room. In there, I paced about the room, trying to figure out what the hell I was going to do now. Glancing out the window, I saw it was starting to look a little stormy outside…hey!

"Hey! Get off my phone line!" I yelled through the open window. It took me a few seconds to realize I was yelling at a Pikachu Hybrid. The boy had a Pikachu ears, tail, hands and feet, from what I could see. He was a little kid, but what confused me was the fur that covered him. Wearing a shirt and pants, he had red cheeks, but where his fur should've been yellow, it looked like Raichu fur, but lighter. He was on top of the nearby phone pole, nibbling on the end of the broken phone line that went to my house.

"Pika?" he said in an accent I couldn't place, confused. He looked at me for a few seconds, then went back to his snack.

"Vinny! No!" I heard, 'Mom', yell. I ran out into the hallway in time to hear her on the phone in her room, muttering something.

Soon, she was speaking Spanish to someone. I took French in school, so I had no clue what she was saying. She spoke with the person on the other end of the line for a minute, then hung up. I went back to my room and watched Vinny outside. 

Soon enough, a female Pikachu Hybrid with the same fur colors as Vinny, appeared from the house closest to the phone pole. She looked older than Vinny, (maybe his mother?) and was carrying a roll of duct tape. She put the tape in her mouth and climbed up the pole toward Vinny. Vinny watched as she climbed up, and near the top, put up a little fight as the woman tried to take the broken wire away from him. He started to cry while she proceeded to tape the wire onto the pole kinda haphazardly. She said something that I now recognized to be Spanish to Vinny, and he reluctantly moved around and hung onto the back of her neck as she climbed down. When they hit the ground, she took him in her arms and carried him into her house.

"O.K…Mental note: Hybrids are apparently not out of the ordinary in this world…" I muttered.

Great, now what? I couldn't talk with The_Seraph or any of my other buddies online. So far as I can tell, they're the only ones, besides me, who know something is screwy around here. My family is gone, and I might never see any of them again. In fact, the only good thing that had happened was now I was sure I wasn't nuts. Still, is it really that good? I've got Pokémon in my house, Hybrids are real; the entire world is screwed up! 

"Mom! I'm going out!" I yelled, heading down the stairs. Right now, I only had one idea on what to do; find Seraph. She lives a town over, and they recently just put in a bus service around here, so I could catch a ride in.

Seeing all my Pokémon done with their breakfast, I put their bowls in the dishwasher and was about to figure out how I was going to keep track of them all without putting them in balls (I was never very comfortable about the whole Pokémon staying in balls idea. In a game, sure I'd do it, but now Pokémon are real, with real feelings. What was I going to do here?) when I saw the newspaper clipping stuck on the refrigerator. I glanced at it to see what it was.

"Hmm…" Well, this was interesting. The article was about a law that was passed a while ago. Apparently, a while ago, Hybrids were often in fear of being attacked by trainers who didn't like to keep their Pokémon in balls (Apparently, the Pokemon's competitive urges would sometimes get the better of their training.), so a new law was made. Trainers could have up to two Pokémon outside their balls at once in public. The rest of the time, they either had to be in their balls, at the home of the person who owned them, or in a public building where Pokémon had to be out of their balls for periods of time, like at a Pokémon Center. 

"O.K., so I can take two of you guys with me. Right?" They all nodded at that. Who would I take? 

"Alright…who'd I take out yesterday?" I asked, remembering Houndor said something about going out before. Houndor let out a little yip, and Eevee squeaked. "O.K…Furret and…Feraligater. You two are coming."

Nidorino and Dragoniar looked disappointed, but I assured them I do something for them later. I put on my shoes by the door, and was halfway out it when Furret and Feraligater started yelling.

"What is it?" I asked. Furret made her way back up the stairs and disappeared around the corner, then came back a moment later pushing a backpack out in front of her. I ran upstairs and opened it up to see what was inside.

"Good grief…" There were Potions, Super Potions, Antidotes, Burn Heals and all sorts of other stuff in it, including odd-looking Pokéballs. Looking at Furret, I asked, "Do you really think I'll need all this?"

"Furret!" was the response I got. I sighed, slipped the backpack onto my back, and quickly left the house.

It still looked the same outside, in terms of houses and the like. I started to the end of the street, seeing a bus stop sign, map and schedule there. A bus soon pulled up, which was empty except for the driver. The map was the same except for names, and according to that and the schedule, the closest I was going to get to Seraph's house was the local Pokémon Center in what was now Apple Grove Town. Great…Seraph lives in Apple Grove Town, and I live in Sapphire Town. The names are so corny, it's almost sad.

When I paid my fee, I grabbed a seat toward the front of the bus and sat abruptly. Everything was so different…so confusing…I moaned and glanced out the window while Furret and Feraligater got their own seats. As the bus pulled away, I happened to glance at the new name of my street.

"New Bark Circle."

Well, I thought as we started off down the road, the winds of a new beginning are blowing all right. They maybe blowing like a tornado, but they're blowing. 

Perhaps some of my more loyal fans will note that a large portion of the story; namely chapter 2 and 3, are no longer here. Before I'm sent flames by once-loyal-now-angry-fans, allow me to explain my reasoning for pulling the chapters. The website for my stories, which I'd hoped to have long ago, is finally up. To allow newer people to get caught up with the story and feel more in tune with what's happening, I decided to pull Chapters 2 and 3 and repost them later.

Now most readers are probably thinking; "So?! What benefit is this to me?!" They probably think they're getting screwed, and admittedly at first glance it may seem that way. However, there are many benefits. The new website, which can be located at http://www.khat-fox.com/~pocket-people/, allows you to easily submit your own works, has a forum where you can get more involved in the story or just talk with other people, plus many other things which are currently in the works with the rest of the website. 

To be fair to my readers, I've left New Beginning untouched here, even though it's not all together on the website. I'll re-release each chapter of, "Intertwine Dreams" every two weeks, and by then I guarantee a brand new Chapter 4 should be done. Updates will be on a much more regular basis on the website; no more waiting 3 or four months in between chapters. There will also be some minor, but not incredibly important tweaks to the other chapters, so you might want to read them as soon as they're re-released to see what's changed. Also, for those who've requested characters in this story, I have not forgotten you! I will get you into here as soon as I can humanly can!

Well, I think I've pretty much said everything I need to. Thanks for understanding and hope to see you on the new website soon!


	2. Chapter 2

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INTERTWINE DREAMS

**Chp.2- Learning to cope**

"Here ya go, kid. Apple Grove Pokémon Center."

I thanked the driver and stepped out of the bus onto the sidewalk, calling for my Pokémon to follow me. Hey, isn't this where the bank used to be? Oh well, I thought as Furret and Feraligater hopped out of the bus, I guess that's not here in this world.

The Pokémon Center looked like one's I'd seen on the cartoon; glass doors, glass windows going all along the buildings next to the doors, Poké Ball on the roof with the big, "P" on it. Maybe I should just take a quick glance and make sure Seraph isn't already here, I thought. I studied it for a moment before going in, wondering what else I would find around here.

Pushing open the doors of the Center, I could see no one was around at the time. That was a surprise. I thought that the place would be packed with people. Then again, what do I know for sure in this world?

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone here?"

"Hello?" That voice…it couldn't be…"Xavier? Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah. Hey…Joy." Sure enough, Nurse Joy came out of one of the back rooms. She had a mountain of Poké Balls in her arms, and seemed to be having trouble holding them all.

"How come you're here so early?" she asked, swaying a little to hold all the balls. "Your shift doesn't start for almost two hours."

"My shift?" At the mention of shift, I thought she was talking about shape shifting, like with a Hybrid.

"Yes, remember? You start at two-thirty today, and it's not even one yet." As she spoke to me, she went into another room.

"What?" Joy dropped a ball on her way in, so I ran behind the main counter to pick it up. As I looked at it, I couldn't help but think I was holding a real, functioning Poké Ball in my hands. "What does being a Hybrid have to do with any of this?"

"Being a Hybrid?! I'm talking about your job!" 

"My job? I work here?"

"Of course you work here!" Joy peered around the door to look oddly at me. "Are you O.K? You sound like a person who just got hit with an Amnesia attack."

"What? That only…oh, yeah." It occurred to me that things like Amnesia wouldn't be the same as in the game. It might have been possible for it to be used on other Pokémon, instead of just raising the users attack. (I've never quite figured out how losing your memory would make you stronger, but it was just a game.)

"Sorry Joy. I…didn't sleep well last night. Just give me some time, and I'll be fine."

"Alright…" She sighed and looked around the room. "Well, as long as you're here, you might as well get started…"

For the next few hours, I was forced to help out around the Center. Well, I wasn't really forced, but I figured it'd look weird if I just left my job, and the last thing I wanted to do was draw even more attention to myself. I didn't do too much medical stuff, but I did do things like checking on the functioning of Poké Balls, taking inventory, and keeping little kids from running in the back and creating all sorts of havoc. Furret and Feraligater got checkups from Joy, and from there kept the injured Pokémon company.

As I moved about the Center, I couldn't help but think that not yesterday, I would've thought anyone who said that Pokémon were real was nuts, and now, it was totally opposite. If I tried to convince someone that Pokémon shouldn't exist (or Hybrids for that matter), they thought _I_ was the crazy one. Just to be sure, I tested this theory on Joy later in the day.

"Hey Joy, can I ask you something?" I said as Joy was getting some tools for an examination.

"Yes?"

"Listen…let's say that, just yesterday, Pokémon and Hybrids didn't exist…"

"Alright…" She seemed to be following so far.

"O.K…bear with me hear. If I were to tell you that before yesterday, Pokémon was just a video game, and I created Hybrids as part of a extremely…alright, some-what…popular story, and that some weird virus somehow made them all real, what would your reaction be?"

Joy suddenly stopped moving. Slowly, she turned to look at me.

"I'd have to say you must've hit your head hard on something." she responded.

"Great…and I don't suppose telling you that only me and a few of my friends know that all this wasn't real yesterday, and that everyone else's memory has been affected to think that all this is normal when it's not is going to change your mind?"

"No…"

"And I assume telling you that you and your family only existed in the game, plus the cartoon based on the game, isn't going to help either?"

There was a long, awkward pause after that. A few seconds later, Joy had a thermometer in my mouth and was running some sort of device that looked like a hand held metal scanner up and down my body.

"Wha thar thou thouing?" I asked, not able to speak well with the thermometer in my mouth.

"Checking your mental health. Either your running a high fever that's making you delusional, or a psychic attack has affected your thinking…"

I protested this, to no avail. The device didn't pick up anything (even though I had no clue what it was looking for.), and my temperature was normal. Joy let me keep working, though looked oddly at me for most of the day.

A few people came into the Center, but only one Hybrid came in; a Ninetales Hybrid. She seemed to be only about 17, wearing a sweater that covered her arms and, while rather bunched up at the neck, I still could see some of her neck . Her hair was a little wild and was let out long, almost spiking everywhere. Her tails all swished around nervously as she looked around, as if the entire world was watching her. Her green eyes darted about, and she seemed very nervous. Her pants were baggy and in a parachute style, so they swished a little as she walked. Her fur was a very light tan, with a darker tan color at the tips of her tails.

Finally, about four in the afternoon, I was about to head out for my break. Seraphs house was only a two or three minute walk away, so it shouldn't have been too hard to reach. Of course, Joy didn't make my life any easier.

"Xavier?" 

"Yes, Joy?"

"Did you inventory that new supply of medicine yet?"

"Yes."

"Did you check and make sure all those Poké Balls were working or not?"

"Yes…"

"And none of the Pokémon have been complaining while you were nearby?"

"No…" I was starting to get fed up with this. Joy apparently didn't see that, as she continued to bother me with similar questions over and over. Now, usually I'm a patient guy, unless I'm about to do something important. Then I'll give you a few seconds before I either start tuning you out or start getting really annoyed. In this case, I was starting to get annoyed with all this.

"Joy, may I please just go on my break?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"O.K…" I let out a sigh of relief. "Just one more thing…"

"WHAT?!" I snapped. My patience had just run out.

"Xavier! What's the…oh no! Xavier, calm down!" Joy suddenly sounded really worried. "You know what happens when you get angry…"

"What?!" 

"You know…" She looked down the hallway into the main waiting area, almost as if she was afraid of someone hearing us.

"No, I don't." I started scratching at my left hand. It had started to itch really badly.

"You don't? How could you n…oh no…"

Joy rushed over and placed a hand on my forehand while using her other hand to hold out my left arm. The itching feeling was slowly starting to creep up my arm, becoming almost unbearable. I attempted to scratch at it, noticing how much warmer it had suddenly gotten.

"Temperature is at least 120 degrees…constant scratching… perspiration… damn it, why do you have to turn into Fire Storm now?"

"Turn into Fire Storm? What th…hey!" Someone came down the hall toward us, and Joy had caught me off guard, pushing me into a nearby bathroom and slamming the door shut as I stumbled in. 

"What was that all ab…oh shit!" I looked at my arm and saw red and black hairs starting to spring up all over the place. I tried to hold back the transformation, until it occurred to me that I didn't know how to fight it.

I watched with a mixed reaction of fear and amazement as the hairs lengthened and grew as more came up, soon covering my arm totally in fur. The itching feeling had begun to spread all over my body, and I vainly tried to scratch it, but it only got worse. While I tried to scratch the itching in my hands, I could feel my palms and fingerprints starting to grow rough and thick, becoming the pads I'd felt when I first woke up.

"Eww…" I looked at the mirror above the sink and saw how far the transformation had gone. I still looked human, but a human covered totally in red, white and black fur. My mouth suddenly started to push out from my face, becoming the muzzle of a Growlithe. The upper halves of my ears started to grow limp, but before I could see anything else, my vision blurred as my whole face adjusted to take on a more canine appearance. By the time I could see clearly again, a Growlithe's face looked back at me in the mirror.

Everything soon started to get slowly smaller around me. I wasn't quite sure why this was happening, until I looked in the mirror. I was starting to grow taller with each passing second while my arms and hands grew slightly longer and bigger. I could feel my bones slowly growing and forcing me up and up. It didn't hurt, but it grossed me out. It's like when the dentist uses Novocaine before he drills. You know it should hurt like hell, but it doesn't.

After my growth spurt, I figured the transformation was done. Not so, as the muscles in my chest began to expand and press out. I quickly yanked off my shirt before it ripped, as it was already tight from the added height and fur bunched up underneath it. Even as I yanked it off, though, I could feel the muscles starting to bulge in my arms. The ones in my legs started getting noticeably stronger too. I would've probably felt them strengthening in my back and stomach as well, except my feet suddenly started to hurt really badly. What the hell was the prob…

BAM! BAM!

"Oops…well, I never really did like those shoes…" I'd forgotten to take off my shoes during the transformation, and my now huge feet simply burst right out of them. I kicked away the tattered remains of my shoes, pulling off my socks.

Now the transformation seemed complete. I'd shot up from my usual six feet and thin build to about six foot four inches and a lean, wiry kind of muscular build. I noticed how I also looked and felt older than as a human. My newly enhanced senses suddenly kicked in, all new sounds and smells hitting me all at once. I could hear a baby Pokémon crying in a room well down the hall from the bathroom. I could smell the perfume, sweat, and deodorant of people who hadn't been by in hours like they were standing right next to me. There were also a lot more unpleasant smells that lingered in the bathroom, but my nose filtered out those items. Just out of curiosity, I tried concentrating on my human form, just to see if I changed back. Nothing happened, which kinda made sense. One idea for the whole Hybrid changing forms thing I'd planned to add was that no matter how long a person had been a Hybrid, they'd have to wait a while after changing between human and Hybrid form.

SHLOOP!

"Ah man, what now?" I looked all down the front of my body, but didn't see anything new…maybe it was something outside.

Cautiously, I looked out the door to see if anyone else was coming. No one was immediately outside the door, so I stepped out. Searching around the back rooms, I found a locker that I hadn't seen before. It had, "X. Canin" printed on it.

"This must be mine…" I mean, how many names start with X? Canin is my last name now? Wait a minute…Canin…that's just canine without the e!

"Well, it's better than Ketchum…" I muttered, opening it up. There was a T-shirt that would fit my larger form, so I hastily put it on.

Unable to find Joy anywhere, I went back out into the main area, taking one last look around before heading to the door. Hmm, that Ninetales Hybrid is still here…wait, why is she coming over here?

"Excuse me, sir, but you wouldn't happen to know a guy named Xavier Canin?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Who was this girl? She hadn't seen me while I was working, and I didn't recall having any friends that were Ninetales Hybrids. Still, I've also supposedly been a Hybrid since I was seven, so there was a lot I didn't know.

"FireHybrid! About time you got here…what happened to you? You're huge!"

"FireHybrid? Who the…Seraph?"

The Ninetales Hybrid nodded. "I found out you had to work here today, so I came here to wait for you. How long have you been here?"

"A few hours. Didn't you see me at all?"

"No. I didn't think you'd be here already."

"Oh…what happened to you? You said you were a Vulpix Hybrid, not a Ninetales Hybrid."

"That…" Seraph reached into her pocket and pulled something out, handing it to me, "you can blame on this stupid thing…"

"What is it?" It looked like a ruby. It was in a rock-like shape with a glass red color, and felt kinda warm.

"Well, you've played the game. You know what item evolves some Fire-types."

"Yeah, I know. They evolve with…" I looked at the rock for a few more moments, then tossed it up in the air like I was Superman and I'd just been handed Kryptonite. "What the fuck are you trying to do to me?!"

"Hey!" Seraph caught the rock as it fell back down. "It's O.K. I sucked all the energy out of it already."

"Fine…just don't hand me a Fire Stone without some warning!" I took a few breaths to calm down. "Where'd you get that, anyway?"

"Well, it's actually kinda embarrassing…" she looked down at her feet. "I… accidentally found it."

"Accidentally?" I was missing something here.

"Well, I was walking out of the yard, and, well…fell…"

"You fell on a Fire Stone?!"

"Not on…over…"

"You tripped on a Fire Stone?!"

She didn't say anything, but I knew I was right. I sighed and shook my head. Only she would do something so stupid…

"Alright, let's get away from the fact that you're a total klutz. We've got other stuff to worry about."

"Yeah." We moved over to a pair of chairs in the lobby and took a seat. "I think the most important thing is why this is happening in the first place!"

"That, and why we're the only ones who know this isn't supposed to be happening!" I added.

She nodded and sighed. "Man, first the computer blows up, now this…"

"Wait a minute…your computer blew up too?! Geez, I thought it was just me!"

"It did? How exactly did it happen?"

I explained exactly what had happened in-between infecting my computer with the virus to coming to the Center on the bus to look for Seraph. The only difference in the computer explosions Seraph noted was that she had no warning; the whole thing just blew up on her at once. She also passed out as soon as the fire died down on her computer.

"Great, just great…" How could this have happened? I blow up my computer, Seraph's and God only knows how many other people's computers. What happened if someone didn't survive the explosion? I might've killed someone, just because I didn't fully read a stupid manual. My family is gone…who knows what happened for sure? Are they dead? Did they ever exist in this world?

"Seraph…what's your name now, anyway?" I asked.

"Serena. Serena Vulpos." O.K., that's not _too_ weird…

"Alright Serena…you said you still have all your family members?"

"Yeah, everyone's still there. They think all this is normal, but they're there. I could've done without my sisters, but I guess I wasn't that lucky."

"Oh…that's nice…" I have to admit; I felt jealous. Sure, my family was a constant pain in my ass, but they're still family…and what about my relatives? God, I hadn't even thought of them. I didn't want to lose them too… well, losing Uncle Bob wouldn't be a tragedy. For a guy who's supposed to be my godfather, he sure likes to make me miserable.

We still couldn't figure out how a couple of exploding computers could've done all this. The best I could tell, it was some sort of weird phenomenon that no one discovered yet. Still, exploding computers? That's a bit of a stretch.

"So Serena…what do you think about being a Hybrid?" The only reason I really asked this was to get as far away from my family as possible. If I was going to figure out how to fix everything, I couldn't let my feelings cloud my thoughts.

"Well, it's kinda cool. I can understand Pokémon, and breathing fire is fun, in a weird way. Then again, there's them…"

"Them?"

"Yes, them!" She motioned over her shoulder at her tails. "There's nine of them! Joe, Bob, Al…how am I supposed to keep track of them all?!"

I had to laugh at that. At least Seraph somewhat insane nature remained intact. While it can get annoying at times, sometimes you just need to listen to some ranting lunatic to realize how good your life is.

"What about you? How do you like being a creature you created?"

"I dunno…yeah, it's kinda cool, but…this is just so wrong. My family's gone, almost everyone else thinks this is totally natural…it's just so confusing."

"You have no idea how that could've happened?"

I shook my head. "I have no idea how _any _of this could've happened."

My stomach growled loudly, making me realize how hungry I was. I guess the change must have sped up my metabolism. I stood up and faced Seraph, my back to the doors of the Center.

"I'm hungry. You want to head over to Burger King?"

"Now? What about your job? Your family?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm on break, and I'm pretty sure it's going to take a while to get things back to normal. In the meantime, I guess I'll just have to adjust."

While I waited for Seraph to get up, the doors of the Center opened. I didn't pay much attention to the person coming in. Seraph got up and started to walk toward the doors. I turned to follow, but was suddenly met with the sensation of someone throwing their arms around my neck and rubbing something wet and cold against the front of it.

"Hey there, partner." the owner of those arms said, rubbing the cold and wet thing all around my neck. The voice was kind of rough, but you could sense it was feminine. "You're here early…"

"What the…" It appeared to be another Growlithe Hybrid, or at least that's what it looked like, since all I could see was the top of her head. It took me a few moments to realize she was rubbing against me with her nose. She was _nuzzling_ my neck!

"I've missed you so much…" she said, pushing away but still keeping her arms around my neck.

"Missed me? What…oh…hello…" I may have said, "hello" but my mind was thinking, "Whoa! We're being extremely forward!"

The female Hybrid that was currently hanging off my neck wasn't a Growlithe like I'd thought, but was in a fact an Arcanine Hybrid. She was maybe an inch or two shorter than me, and she had little muscle to her. Also, strips of white fur flowed out from each side of her wrists and ankles, the ones on her wrists going halfway down to her elbows, and the ones on her ankles went out about an inch or two behind the back of her foot. They seemed to hover there by no effort on her part.

She was a lot like me in other ways, though. (Except for the obvious differences between a male and female.) She had a mostly human shaped body, with bare feet like my own. Her face was that of an Arcanine, like mine was that of a Growlithe. The main thing that caught my attention, though, was her body. She had a slim build except for her chest, and that…you know how a lot of the older female characters in anime have very big chests? This woman was certainly no exception. She wore a plain T-shirt and tight jean shorts.

"When you get done here, beautiful, I'll be in the back getting ready. See you there." With that, she gave my muzzle a lick of her long, pink tongue before slowly proceeding into the back.

I stood there for a few seconds, just trying to decide if what just happened was right. It _felt_ real, but the thought of some hot, sexy looking woman wanting _me_ made no sense what so ever. (I was never very popular with the ladies.) What made even less sense, though, was that I wasn't excited by that at. In fact, my stomach felt like it was doing flips. I felt like I was going to barf.

"Seraph…" I said slowly. "Did what I think just happened happen?"

"You mean did some female Hybrid come in, nuzzle your neck, call you beautiful and lick you before heading into the back? Yeah, that happened…"

"O.K…and how should I be reacting to this?"

"I'd think you'd like that, but apparently you don't."

"How can you tell?"

"Your tail is totally still. If you liked that, it'd probably be going a million miles an hour!"

"My tail? I have a tail?"

"Yeah, it's that thing behind you, right above your butt. You know where that is?"

I looked over my shoulder, and much to my surprise, found out she was right. A white fluffy tail was hanging out behind me, wagging like it lived a life of it's own. It went down to my knees, and was full of life. Even now, though, I couldn't feel it at all. It just felt so natural, like it should've been there, I'd never noticed it before.

"I assume you're not coming with me?"

I shook my head. "I probably should find out what that was all about. I'll catch up with you later."

"Sure. Call me if you change your mind about her and get, 'tied up'." she said with a smirk before heading out the doors. 

I smiled to myself and proceeded into the back. I stopped off quickly in the recovery room to make sure Feraligater and Furret knew what was going on. I found them both talking to an injured Lickitung.

"Hey guys." I said, sitting on the edge of the Lickitung's bed. "Do you guys mind spending some time here without me?"

"Why? What's going on?" Feraligater asked.

"A very, _very_ nice looking woman just walked through the door, and I think she likes me…"

"Oh no, not Phoenix!" Furret cried out.

"Phoenix? That's her name? How do you know?"

"How could I not know?!" she exclaimed. They were making it sound like something was wrong. Before I could ask what the problem was, Joy looked in.

"Come on, Fire Storm. You can get your equipment now." she said.

"Uh…O.K." Equipment? What kind of equipment could she be talking about? "I'll see you two later, alright?"

"Uh…yeah." Furret and Feraligater kept looking at me really weirdly. They probably didn't understand what I saw in Phoenix.

There was a door in the back that had been previously locked that was now open. It appeared to lead into the basement. I went down the steps and looked around.

"Whoa…" Somehow I didn't think all this stuff belonged in a Pokémon Center. Various weapons, a large portion of them guns, lined the walls. When I looked them over, though, I saw they weren't regular pistols and shotguns or anything like that. Most of the bullets in the boxes around the weapons were soft and squishy like putty. There were other weapons that looked highly electronic with stacks of what looked like large batteries, but what they did, I wouldn't know without firing them.

There was a door down here as well. I went in and found a locker room. There were only two lockers, and they were labeled, "Phoenix" and, "Fire Storm". I opened my locker and checked out what was inside.

What the hell is this stuff?, I thought, pulling out a metal-grey colored shirt and pants. Both of them felt like spandex, which made me wonder what the hell it was doing in my locker. (Though I've never been very in with the latest fashions, spandex is well below me.) There was also a pair of jeans and a black leather jacket that would fit my current form just fine, and what looked like a small wallet. I picked up the wallet and flipped it open.

"Wait…this isn't a wallet…it's an I.D. badge." The inside had a picture of my Hybrid form, a bunch of information next to my picture, and the words, "Bail Enforcement Agent" above it.

"Bail Enforcement Agent…I'm a bounty hunter?!" Having watch, "The Huntress" a few times, I knew that bail enforcement agent was the official name of a bounty hunter that works for the government. Basically, whenever a criminal who's supposed to go to court skips out, bounty hunters can take up the task of catching the criminal. If they catch them and bring them in to the person who they took the job from, they receive a portion of the money that the criminal was originally supposed to pay for bail.

Well, this was just getting weird. I could here someone in a shower nearby, and I assumed it was Phoenix. God, I better hurry before she gets out and tries something…but why? She was a very nice looking woman who seemed to really like me, but the thought of doing anything even slightly intimate with her made vomit rise in my throat. It was like no matter what I thought of her, some part of me wanted to keep our relationship, whatever it was, from getting too personal. I was surprised with myself; I'm usually begging to find a girl who really liked me, and now when I found one, I wanted to do everything possible _not_ to have a relationship with her.

Oh well; I'll have to figure it out later. I put on the stuff in the locker, figuring I was going to need it for something. I wore the skintight (or furtight, whatever you want to call it.) stuff under the jacket and jeans, as so not to embarrass myself. Phoenix came in just as I finished putting my other clothes in the locker, wearing only a towel around her dripping wet body.

"Oh…you're not getting a shower?" she asked, slowly walking over to me.

"Wha? Shower? Oh…no, I…" Like I said before, I have lots of respect for people, especially women. Still, when a very beautiful looking woman walks in wearing only a towel and dripping wet, you tend to forget about respect and focus on not making a fool of yourself. Besides, I kept hearing in my head, "Oh God, could she put some clothes on?! I don't want to see her like this!" What the fuck was going on here?! "I…got a…shower before I came…"

"I see…well then, I suppose I should get ready to go out. Why don't you go out and get our equipment…unless you'd rather help me here…"

"Help you?" Holy crap, she wanted me to help her?! Under normal circumstances, I probably would've said, "HELL YES!" (O.K., maybe not that extreme.), but my brain kept screaming, "HELL NO!". I thought that was just because I'd suddenly gone from having trouble getting normal women(I'd count Seraph, but she's far from normal..) to say hello to my face to having a woman who seemed to like me _a lot…_and the fact I had to swallow to hold back the vomit from escaping from my throat. "No…I'll get the equipment ready…"

"Again? All right…" she sighed. As I left, I heard her mutter, "Why are the cute ones always so shy?"

Wait a minute, I thought as Phoenix closed the door, again? I'd had opportunities like that before and I didn't take them? Something is REALLY weird here…

As I looked at all the equipment lining the walls, a thought occurred to me. What should I get together? In the end, I had grabbed mostly weapons that used the soft bullets, but I took two of the electronic guns just to be safe. I was barely able to squeeze the stuff into the two large backpacks that were down there. Phoenix came out just as I'd finished. She wore the same jacket and jeans as I did, and though I couldn't tell, I assumed she also wore the other stuff underneath it.

"Do you have everything ready for tonight?" she asked.

I nodded. "These things are filled to the brim. We should be more than ready."

"All right then. We'd better get going if were going to make it in time."

"Uh…sure." Make it where in time? Before I could ask, Phoenix grabbed one of the packs and headed upstairs. I grabbed the other and followed her out and around to the back of the Center and a garage.

"Should I drive tonight, or do you want to take the wheel?"

"Drive? I can't…" I started to say as she opened the door. When I saw what we were going to drive, all I could do was stare.

Some people say you can't fall in love with a machine. Obviously, they've never seen this car. It was a convertible painted jet black. There were two seats in the front and three in the back. It had a shine to it that could only come from great personal care and effort. The top was open, making it even better. It's kinda hard to explain without actually seeing it, but I can assure you; this is _the_ car.

"Fire Storm? Fire Storm? Do you want to drive?"

"…No, that's O.K. You can take the wheel." Besides the fact I didn't know how to drive, I was in too much shock just thinking about riding in it. There was no way I was going to be able to drive it.

I tossed my backpack in the back before I hopped in the front side passenger seat. Phoenix got in the drivers seat, and we were off.

I sat back and tried to figure out if I had everything right here. I was sitting in a beautiful car with a beautiful woman who obviously liked me a lot. We were going somewhere were we'd need a lot of firepower, even if it wasn't very damaging, which added to the excitement of everything that had been happening. No way I'd be able to get these kind of adventures back home.

What was the rush, anyway? Why did I want to change all this? Sure, I'd probably start to miss my real family soon, but why not use this like a little vacation? Besides, it's gonna take a while for me to fix everything. Might as well take full advantage of this.

I must've dozed off pretty early during the trip, for the next thing I knew, Phoenix was nudging me awake. I blinked a few times and looked at the clock. It blinked 9:00 P.M. Geez, I must've been really tired.

I looked around quickly to see if I could tell where we were. I remembered this place. We were about ten minutes from the Center, at a place that used to be an elementary school. Now, it was an abandoned warehouse. We were off in a strip of trees, the whole car shut down.

"Come on partner. We gotta stay awake here." Phoenix said, scanning the warehouse.

"Yeah, right." I mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I didn't bother to ask what we were waiting for. It'd probably be pretty obvious when it showed up.

We waited an hour. One hour turned into two. Two into three. Soon I was wondering if what we were waiting for would ever show up. It was getting hard to think of things to do while we waited. Phoenix, however, seemed to find something to keep herself entertained.

About 12:30, I felt a hand on my knee. I looked over at Phoenix, who acted like nothing was happening. I went back to looking around, but was distracted by Phoenix moving her hand up my leg. I looked over at Phoenix, who suddenly looked embarrassed.

"Sorry…thought I saw a bug." she apologized, quickly pulling her hand away.

"It's O.K." I assured her. Still, I kept an ear open for any more movement from her. She stayed quiet for a few minutes, so I assumed she gave up. Not so, as soon after, I felt a hand on my leg again.

"Another bug?" I asked. Phoenix's response was to turn her body all the way toward me.

"No. Just getting comfortable."

"You need my leg to get comfortable?"

"No…"

"O.K. then." I started looking around again, but quickly looked back when she finished her response.

"I just need you."

Before I knew what was happening, Phoenix was laid out on top of me, nuzzling and nipping at my neck. Her arms were around my chest, pressing me close to her.

"Are you being a little forward?!" I asked, surprised and disgusted. I swear I could feel my skin crawling under my fur.

"Well," she said, continuing to work on my neck, "I've always liked you, but you've been playing hard to get for so long. I figured I'd have to make the first move."

She continued to do this, and I wasn't sure what else to do but put my hands on the sides of her stomach to try and gently push her away. Sure, it felt nice, but the more she did it, the sicker I felt. Why did this feel so wrong?

FLASH!

"Xavier Canin! I thought I told you to pick up this room!"

That voice…it sounded like someone familiar…but not from home. It was from this world. Who could it…

FLASH!

"Mom?!"

"What?" Phoenix stopped nuzzling and looked up at me.

"I just had a flash of my mother…" 

"Oh…" With that, Phoenix slowly got off me and went back to her seat. I'd officially killed any more advances from her tonight. Oddly, of all the other thoughts I'd had about her, the idea of her _not_ trying to come on to me made me happy. Why was that? I'm not gay or anything, but it was like the less she tried, the better I felt I'd be. Great, just another thing to add to my worries…

At 1:30 in the morning, I was about to ask Phoenix if we could call it a night when a car pulled up to the abandoned building, followed about five minutes later by another car. The first person seemed to be alone, but the second one seemed to be dragging someone with them. It was impossible to get a good look at any of them. We didn't bring binoculars, and canine-Hybrid sight is the same as human sight.

We waited about two minutes before heading over. We both grabbed one of the pistols that used the soft bullets and the electronic guns, and ammunition for both. We made our way over on foot to one of the broken windows. It was easy to look in and hear the conversation that was going on.

Inside the building were three people, who all appeared to be human. Two older people wore large trench coats. One appeared to be very large, and the other very scrawny. They both wore large hats that covered up their faces. What caught my attention, though, was the third person. It was a human girl, gagged and bound with her arms behind her, a pair of handcuffs holding them there. She had long blond hair and green eyes. Her clothing consisted of a T-shirt torn at the sleeves and a pair of jeans that were all ripped up. I had to hold back the urge to charge in right then and there.

"Here's my end of the bargain." the scrawny one said, patting a large stack of boxes that were nearby. "I assume you'll want to see it?"

"If you'd be so kind." the large one responded. The scrawny one turned so I couldn't see what was happening, but there was a tearing sound, and soon there were ball shaped objects pouring all over the floor.

"10,000 Ultra Balls, just like you asked." He looked over at the girl. "She the real stuff?"

"Of course. You'd think I deal in anything less?" The large man pulled out a small cone shaped object. "I'll show you."

He placed the cone on the back of the girl's neck. There was an odd whirring sound, and suddenly the girl shook violently. She collapsed on the ground, not moving. For a second, I thought he'd killed her. However, when she was yanked back up, I could see her shaking, so she was still alive. I thought the shaking was from whatever the hell that cone thing was, but as I soon found out, that was not to be true.

Her skin slowly started to turn an orange-reddish color as she continued to shake. She seemed not to notice this, until she started to get taller, then she really seemed to start freaking out. It was hard to tell with her hair, but you could see two small horns rising out of them, like the horns of a Charizard. I wasn't totally sure then, but when the long, orange tail with the flame burning on the end of it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, that confirmed it. A few seconds passed, and suddenly a pair of Charizard wings burst through the back of her shirt, though there were no tearing sounds and no visible damage to any of her clothing. I later learned that clothing was often specially made for Hybrids when they shifted forms, to avoid ripping and damaging perfectly good clothing. This must've been a similar situation.

"What the hell was…hey!" Phoenix had moved to the nearby door and brutally kicked it in. It was all I could do to follow her in, holding the gun that used the soft bullets.

"Bail enforcement agent!" Phoenix barked, holding out her own I.D. in one hand while holding her gun pointed forward with the other. "Hands in the air!"

"What?! Oh, fine…" The large figure slowly reached into the air, but I've seen this stunt pulled before. I kept the gun trained on him, ready for any sudden moves. Two small cannons suddenly appeared over the shoulders of the big man through his coat.

"Blastoise Hybrid!" Phoenix yelled as she dove behind a stack of wooden crates. I ducked under the blast of water that came forth, but a little bit still dripped onto my head.

"Ah shit!" That stung! It's like someone just dripped highly corrosive acid on me. I rolled to the side to avoid another blast, then turned and pulled the trigger on my own gun. A large glob of clay flew out from the muzzle of the gun and hit the big guy right in the chest.

"Clay? You plan to stop me with a child's plaything?!" He seemed to find this very funny. He took off his hat, revealing his face. He entire head was a light blue color, which really showed with his bald head. His small brown eyes and tiny ears were hard to see on his big head.

"You take him! I'll get the other one!" Phoenix yelled before moving on after the other guy.

"Sure!" I called out, silently adding, "Give _me_ the guy that I have the elemental weakness to!"

I jumped to my feet, only to barely sidestep another blast of water. Diving behind the crates Phoenix had been hiding behind, I tried to figure out how the hell I was going to stop this guy with clay. Well, I thought as I placed the current gun in my jacket and pulled out the electronic one, let's see what you have.

"Come out and fight, bitch!" A blue fist with small claws suddenly burst through the box I was hiding behind, missing my head by about an inch. I backed away and watched as the entire stack of crates was reduced to splinters within seconds. That scared the crap out of me, but I had to stay focused. I could be scared later.

"Eat this!" I yelled at the newly revealed Hybrid, pulling the trigger on the gun. There was a whirring sound, then the gun jerked wildly in my hands. Without the extra strength I got from being in this form, I probably have missed my shot by a mile, but I kept it steady enough to hold my aim. A ball of white light shot out from the muzzle and hit the water Hybrid in the stomach.

"AHHHHH!!!" Much to my surprise, and probably his, he flew backwards about twenty feet, knocking over another stack in the process. I wondered what the hell I shot him with, till I noticed the name carved on the side of the gun. The Zap Cannon 3000 had now become one of my most cherished possessions. 

The Hybrid slowly got to his feet, despite behind blasted. His shell must've taken the worst of it. I braced myself, aimed and pulled the trigger again. That when I heard the last thing I'd ever want to.

CLICK!

"Oh-no…" I tried two more times.

CLICK! CLICK!

I got one shot?! I could understand the gun would've used a lot of power, but one lousy shot?! Damn it, now I'd have to reload…

WHOOSH!

Another blast of water came from the Hybrid. I dodged one stream, but the other got me in the hand and knocked away the Zap Cannon. While I tried hard not to think too much about the pain in my hand, I took out the clay gun again, realizing I was in a lot of trouble.

"Oh, did the little pup get wet?" he taunted, seeing I was in pain.

"Ha-ha. Everybody's a comedian…" I muttered. Still, I was pretty much screwed if I didn't think of something fast. This world may have been based on a video game, but there's no reset button on this game…video game…that's it!

Aiming at one of the cannons on his shoulders, I pulled the trigger twice, clogging up the cannon with clay.

"What the hell…" He tried to shoot out another stream of water, but it only came out of the cannon on his left shoulder (which I easily jumped away from). The right cannon, which was clogged with clay, refused to move. 

"Damn you!" he swore. He tried a few more blasts, but with only one cannon to worry about, getting around them was easy. Just when I thought I was safe, he started to charge at me. It was a very slow charge, but it was a charge. With that kind of bulk, I guess you wouldn't have to worry about speed. 

When he was about five feet from me, I stepped to the side, leaving out my foot. Apparently he couldn't stop, because he tripped over my foot and landed sprawled out on the floor. Before he could move, I placed the gun muzzle on the back of his head.

"Alright buddy. You move, I shoot. It might be clay, but do you really wanna think about what'll happen when a gun goes off in the back of your head?"

Judging by the way he didn't move, I guess he got the idea. I searched through my pockets, knowing I'd put Fearligater's and Furret's Poké Balls in there. I didn't feel bad about putting him in it; I have little sympathy for people who deal in slaves. Instead of them, though, I found another kind of Poké Ball. It was black and white stripped, and reminded me of the outfits prisoners wear.

"In you go." I gave the ball a gentle toss, hitting the Blastoise Hybrid. He started to glow red as the ball opened, then was sucked into it. The ball shook on the floor for a while, but after about thirty seconds, it laid still.

Well, that's one, I thought, picking up the ball and slipping it into my pocket. Better check on Phoenix. I reloaded both weapons, knowing how bad it would be if the other guy surprised me with a low supply of ammo. 

"Phoenix? Phoenix! Where are you?" I kept the Zap Cannon out, searching about for Phoenix. I couldn't find her anywhere. Where was she…

CRASH!

A giant blade suddenly crashed through a box and about three centimeters in front my face. I quickly stepped back and watched as the other guy slashed his way through the boxes. This one still had his hat and coat on, but seeing the giant Scyther blade arms, it wasn't hard to tell what kind of Hybrid he was. 

"Next!" he said gleefully. 

"What'd you do to my partner?!" I demanded, seeing fresh blood on the blades.

"Oh, she just hit her head. She'll be fine for now, which is more than I can say for you!"

I tried to fire a shot at him, but he seemed to blur for a second, and then just disappeared. I hastily switched guns, having wasted my one shot with the Zap Cannon. Great, he's fast. If I could just hit him once or twice, I'd slow him down, but hitting him was going to be the problem.

Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I instinctively ducked. This was met by someone kicking my feet out from under me, knocking me onto my back.

"Now it's time to die!" A bladed arm stabbed at my face. At the last second, I placed a hand on either side of the blade. We struggled like this for a few seconds, the tip of the blade mere inches from my face. I seemed to have the strength advantage, but if he got smart and used his other arm, I was gonna get a real bad haircut.

"Hack! Hack!" God, I don't need to start coughing now! Each hack let the blade slip closer and closer to my face. Even when I push it back, another cough worse than the last would let it slip back down. Whatever was in my throat felt huge, too. If I didn't get it out soon, my neck might explode!

With one quick heave, I tossed the bladed arm aside. A second later, the thing in my throat finally came out.

FWOOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!

"AH!" the Hybrid yelled as my FlameThrower engulfed him and set fire to his coat and hat. He rolled around on the ground, trying to put out the fire. When the flames finally died down, I got to my feet, grabbed another one of the black and white Poké Balls from my pocket and threw it at him. He was quickly sucked in, and after a few seconds, was fully captured.

"Phoenix! Where are you?!" I quickly scooped up the ball and stuffed it in my pocket as I searched for my partner. I found her unconscious, lying against a crate. There was a long gash in her stomach and a large bump on her head. I placed a hand under her legs and another across her back, then lifted her up and carried her to the car.

Why do I feel like I forgot something?, I thought as I placed Phoenix in the front side passenger seat. I got both of those crooks in my pocket, I've got Phoenix in the car, both guns in my jacket…The Charizard Hybrid!

I quickly ran back in and helped the Charizard girl out of her handcuffs. There was a crowbar nearby which I jammed into one of the chain links. After working it around a bit, I broke open the link. Her clawed hands went up and worked the gag out of her mouth.

"Thanks. I'd thought you forgot me!" she said, rising to her three toed feet. She stood about 5' 8", with long blond hair and green eyes. Except for the horns poking through her hair and the orange-red skin, her face looked human. If you really looked when she smiled, though, you could see that four of her teeth, two on the top and bottom, where a little longer and a little sharper than the others. A pair of large Charizard wings stood out behind her, and a long Charizard's tail hung above the ground behind her. She had human shaped hands, but instead of fingernails, each finger was tipped with a white claw that looked like it could do some damage. Her bare feet reminded me a little of a bird's talons; three toed, each toe with a sharp claw sticking out of the end.

"Sorry about that, but my partner's hurt. I need to get her to the hospital."

"Oh…do you mind if I come with you? I don't want to stay here, and I have nowhere else to go."

"Uh…sure." I didn't just want to leave her here. Of course, I was going to have to drive, and I had no clue how to. Forget the fact that the hospital I used to know might not even be here anymore. Phoenix solved that problem quickly.

"Ugggnnnnhhhh…"

"Phoenix?" We ran outside to find Phoenix stirring in the car. She moaned as she tried to sit up, then clutched at the gash in her stomach.

"Shit…I don't need this…" she muttered, seeing the blood starting to collect on her arm. "Get the first aid kit out of the trunk!"

"Come on, Phoenix!" I said as I popped open the trunk. There was a box, but all that was in it were Super Potions and various Heals. "We need to get you to the hospital!"

I bought around the box to the front, wondering why I didn't hear a reply. It soon became obvious; Phoenix was looking at me with a face of pure terror!

"No! I can't go there!" she said frantically. "Take me home, please!"

"Phoenix? What's wrong? You're not scared of the hospital, are you?"

"No, but I can't go! Please, take me home!"

"Phoenix…"

"HOME! NOW!"

Despite anything I said, she refused to go to the hospital, insisting I drop her off home. Finally I just gave up, though she gave no reason for why she had to go home. I gave the box to Phoenix to let her take care of her wounds. She sprayed a Super Potion on the cut, though I saw nothing happen. The Charizard girl quietly got into the back, not wanting to get involved in any of this.

Driving was a lot easier than it looked. The car handled well, almost like it knew where I wanted to go. Phoenix gave me directions as I drove, and after a while, it occurred to me that we were on the main road that would eventually lead to my home. I didn't give it much thought.

When we reached an intersection, Phoenix instructed me to turn left, onto the road where I would have had to go on to get to my home. Hey, I thought, maybe Phoenix lives close to me.

At the top of the road (it's on a hill), Phoenix instructed me to turn right onto New Bark Circle. Geez, I thought, she lives on the same road as me!

We drove for a few more seconds, then stopped in front of a house; fourth one on the left, just like my house. Wait a minute…me and Mom are the only one's who live here. How can Phoenix…oh my God…

"Fire Storm? Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, fine." I managed to get out, feeling the vomit rising in my throat. Phoenix got out and offered for both of us to come inside. The other girl accepted, probably not sure what else to do. I only accepted because I need to find some to puke in, _fast_.

Phoenix headed upstairs when we got in. I watched her go up, and as soon as she was out of sight, I ran right into the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me before leaning over the sink and…well, do you _really_ want the details?

"Uh…excuse me?" The girl knocked on the door about halfway through everything. "Are you alright?"

"Not really!" I managed to get out before losing it again. Finally after about four minutes, I gained control of my stomach, though I still felt sick. I cleaned up with a nearby towel before stepping outside.

"Are you sure your O.K?" the girl asked again.

"You know that woman who just went upstairs?" She nodded. "I think she's in love with me."

"And THAT made you sick?"

"She's my mother! That's what made me sick!"

"Oh…that's not natural where I come from…"

"It's not natural anywhere! What the heck gave you the idea it was different here?!"

"Sorry…I'm just not used to this place."

"This part of town?"

"No…this _world_."

"What?!"

"Look, this might sound crazy, but…things were not like this…what is it, Tuesday?"

"Yeah, it's Tuesday."

"Alright…You must think I sound nuts, but Sunday, Pokémon, Hybrids…things were totally different!" 

It couldn't be…did I find someone else who knew this wasn't right? I'd better test them, just to be sure.

"Really…and what were things like two days ago?" I asked.

"Well, first of all, there were no Hybrids at all. I haven't seen any yet, but I'm guessing there are Pokémon here as well?"

"Yes, they're here."

"Okay…you probably think I sound nuts, but I come from a world where this doesn't exist except in video games and cartoons. I haven't had much of a chance to speak to anyone, except for that guy, and all he did was yell at me to shut up, but he seemed to think everything was perfectly natural."

I shook my head. "No, you're right. This wasn't here two days ago."(It was technically two days, since it was about 2:00 in the morning.)

"Really?! God, I though it was just me…"

"Nope. Actually, you can blame me for the Hybrids…" I said nervously, scratching the back of my head.

"What? How are they your fault?"

"Well, I kinda created them. It was just supposed to be a story, but it kinda, well, "evolved" into something more."

"You created them?…FireHybrid? Is that you?"

"Huh?!" She knew my pen name? "Uh, yeah, it's me. Should I know you?"

"You may remember my login name. Dark Raichu ring a bell?"

"Dark Raichu…oh, yeah! I remember you!" She was one of my online buddies who used to read my story on the small site I had it on before it shut down. I remember her in particular, not just because she was the second to ever comment on the story, but because her and the first person to review, DarkMutatedBrock, both had Dark at the beginning of their names, and I always thought that was a little odd. 

"Well, I'm glad to see you still remember me. So…" she looked over her body, obviously surprised, "any idea how this happened?"

"I've got a theory, but not much else."

"Well, let's hear it. It's better than nothing."

I explained to her my idea about how somehow the explosions of the computers caused all this to happen, but I realized it wouldn't have made much sense unless she got that attachment.

"But I did get it."

"You did?!" Talk about coincidences! She pointed out something else, though, that I'd missed.

"You said you got a Growlithe before your computer blew up? And Seraph got a Vulpix?"

"Yeah…"

"I had my Charizard out first when mine went boom…it seems like whatever the first Pokémon we had out was the kind of Hybrid we changed into!"

"You're right!" Well, that wasn't much help, but it was something, at least. "Well…look, you'll probably want to start heading home soon. Why don't you call home and let your parents know where you are? You can probably hang out here for a while until they make arrangements to get you home. I need to check on Phoenix."

"Alright." She went off into the kitchen to use the VidPhone while I headed upstairs. Phoenix was in her…Mom's…their bedroom, lying on the bed. She was asleep. I slowly crept over to check on her, the pads of my feet combined with the soft carpet making no noise. The cut on her stomach had stopped bleeding and had closed a little, but was still pretty much there. I guess Potions don't have the instant heal affects on Hybrids like they do on Pokémon. Still, they're appear to be pretty useful for first aid.

"Hello…" There was a brown leather covered book lying on the ground next to the bed. Maybe it was a journal. Normally, I'd respect people's privacy, but this was a different matter. Besides, I needed to find some reason why my mother was having very affectionate feelings for me. I looked it over for a while, picking out the most relevant parts.

May 12, 1999: I'm beginning to worry about Xavier. He's acting very strangely, and after what happened back in the second grade with him, I'm afraid he might have figured out the truth. How could I be so blind?…

August 27, 1999: I managed to get a blood sample from Xavier when he went for a physical a few days ago. I've sent the blood to a lab that specializes in Hybrid testing. The wait has been hard on me. If I don't find out soon, my nerves will kill me…

September 1, 1999: The results are back, much to my relief. All testing proved negative for Hybrid DNA. I respect Hybrids; hell, _I'm_ a Hybrid, but I don't want Xavier to find out what I've been doing. He might want to join me, and I don't want to risk getting him hurt.

April 14, 2000: I've met my new partner today. His name is Fire Storm, a Growlithe Hybrid, and a very nice looking one at that. He treats me so well, and seems very skilled as a bounty hunter. I was surprised to find out that he's 23; he should've evolved long ago…

September 9, 2000: I finally got the courage to ask out Fire Storm out on a date. He seemed surprised, but he accepted. He offered to pick the restaurant, and we went to the Barn Cider, my favorite restaurant. When I asked him how he knew this was my favorite place, he just smiled and said he had a hunch. He was great all through the meal, paid for everything, and even drove me home. A kiss eluded me tonight, but after what he's told me, I can wait. I can't believe he has Evolutionus Stoppius. It explains why he's still a Growlithe at his age…

January 1, 2001: I've made my resolution for this year. I'm going to try whatever it takes to get Fire Storm to love me. He always seems so hesitant and shy. For a man his age, he seems to take little, if any, interest in me romantically. I always have the opposite problem with other men; they constantly keep trying to get my attention, even when I make it clear I have no interest. Maybe I'm losing my touch…

Today: I've been working away at Fire Storm, but he refuses to show any signs of weakening. I tried a whole new approach tonight, but throwing myself right at him doesn't appear to work well. If anything, he looked sick when I licked his muzzle and walked in on him in only a towel. He did put his hands on my stomach, but he was just trying to get me off him. When I was in his lap, he thought of his mother, and…I'm sorry, but that's just a major turn-off. We got our money for tonight, but a damn Scyther Hybrid slashed me in the stomach and knocked me out early. Couldn't get anything to hit him. Fire Storm had to drive me home, and he's downstairs with a girl we rescued. This is the first time he's ever been here. I'd try to get him to come up, but after how he's already reacted to my other advances, now isn't the time. Besides, I don't want the girl to see anything she shouldn't; she's not even Xavier's age…

The last three appeared to be in a different handwriting than the rest. If my guess was right, Phoenix wrote the last three and my human mother wrote the rest. Another thing I guessed at; Phoenix was in love with my Hybrid form, not realizing that it was me, her son that she was in love with. She looked younger in her Hybrid form than she did as a human. Talk about an Oedipus complex…I wonder how long I've known. It had to have been a while, because it said I've been playing hard to get for a long time. Of course, I thought. Almost everything's changed, but my luck with women remains the same. I always wondered if I was the kind of kid only a mother could love, and…well, this was a little extreme, but it proved my theory.

I thought about telling her when she woke up…but what would I say? That I was flattered she loved me, but it was wrong for her to love her son? I mean, mothers and sons should love each other, but not like this! Besides, I couldn't tell her. It shatter her heart. Still, I felt I should give her a little something to at least make her feel her feel slightly wanted by someone who she thought was close to her age.

I knelt down and briefly touched my muzzle to her forehead. It was the best I could do to a kiss without using my tongue, and there's nothing wrong with a kiss like that. When I pulled away, I thought I saw a smile on her face, but it quickly disappeared.

I went back downstairs to check on Dark Raichu. I found her on the couch, close to tears.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, taking a seat with her.

"I just called home…"

"Your number worked? Wow, none of my friends numbers did…so what happened?"

"My parents…" she turned to look at me. "They didn't recognize me."

"What?!"

"They said that their daughter was a human, not a Hybrid. When I tried to tell them that I changed, they refused to believe it and hung up."

"Oh…so why don't you become human and try again?"

"I tried calling again right afterward. They put some kind of password lock on it. Only people who know the code can call them, and I don't know it…"

"…I'm sorry…" was all I could say. There I go again, screwing up people's lives. Now I'm separating families because of all this… "Look, talk to Phoenix when she gets up. Tell her I asked if you could hang out here for a while, until we can figure out how to get you home."

"Sure…but where are you going?" she asked as I got up and headed to the door.

"I gotta go do some stuff." I opened the door and was halfway out it before I thought of something else. "Oh, one last thing…"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell her I'm her son."

She seemed confused, but nodded. I went out, started the car, and drove back to the Center. After putting the car in the garage, I unlocked the Center doors (there was another key on the car key ring.) and found Furret and Feraligater on beds in the recovery room, sleeping away. There was another empty bed that I curled up on, tired both mentally and physically. 

Joy was shaking me awake around 8:30. (I would've liked to sleep till noon, but I rarely get anything I want.) She asked how everything went last night, and I told her, minus the conversations I'd had with Dark Raichu. She'd covered for me when I had to leave, and left a message on the answering machine at home, telling Mom I was going to running some errands for her and that I'd stay the night at the Center.

"Here, don't forget this." Before I even got out of bed, Joy handed me a Poké Ball.

"What's this for?" I asked, not sure why she was giving me a Pokémon, since I already have six.

"It's that abandoned Growlithe, Blaze. He'll cover for you if your Mom decides to go sniffing around your room and catches your Hybrid scent. She'll think it's him."

"Thanks…" I said once my brain caught up with what was happening. Furret and Feraligater were up, so I decided to shift and head home. Shifting to human was easier than changing to Hybrid form. I felt really weird when I started to shrink back down, losing my fur and muscle as well. My face felt like clay as everything changed, and by the time I could see, I was human again. After putting on my socks and borrowing a pair of shoes, the four of us (including the Pokémon.) caught another bus home.

By the time I got home, Dark Raichu was up with Mom, and both were in their human forms. I did my best to act surprised that there was another person in the house. Thankfully, I'm good at faking emotions. Surprise, fear, sadness, pain, honesty…wait… no! I didn't mean honesty, really! 

"Excuse me...Mom? May I ask who this is?" I said, looking over at the blond hair girl.

"Xavier! Uh…this is Amber. She's…the daughter of a friend of mine. They went away, but couldn't take her with them, so she's staying here for a while."

"Hello." Amber said with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

"Hello." I yawned and stretched out. "Sorry, had a rough night at the Center. You get the message from Joy?"

"Yes I did. Well, I need to do some things. I'll leave you two alone." Mom put her dishes in the kitchen dishwasher, then went upstairs. I grabbed the required things for cereal and headed into the dining room.

"Amber it is now?" I asked, taking a seat.

She nodded. "Dark Raichu really doesn't work anymore if I'm a Charizard Hybrid."

"Makes sense. I'm Fire Storm in my Hybrid form, even though FireHybrid is kinda fitting."

"Yeah, you're right." she said with a little laugh. There was a pause for a minute, then I heard something I sure wasn't expecting.

"Thank you."

"Huh?" I thought she'd be pissed at me for what I'd done. Now she was thanking me? "What'd I do?"

"Well, you saved my life, to begin with. Now you're letting me stay at your house for who knows how long. Why shouldn't I thank you?"

"Well…it's my fault your life was ever in danger to begin with. Besides, what else could I do but let you stay? After everything I've done, it's the least I could do."

"You think this is your fault?" I nodded. "Fi…Xavier, you had no idea this would happen. Sure, you might've looked at those instructions and checked them out, but I didn't check mine when I got it. How many people do you think did? I'm willing to bet not a lot."

"Thanks…" I felt a little better, but not a whole lot. At least no had blamed me for this except me. Well…until I get this fixed, might as well enjoy it. 

Besides, I thought as I took a spoonful of cereal, authors always trying to surprise their fans, and this was probably the biggest surprise any fan of mine had ever gotten. Let's just hope they like it.

Here ends Chp.2. I'm trying to write as often as possible, but it's hard getting private space to write this kind of stuff, and…I dunno, but I feel like I'm always being watched, for some reason.


	3. Chapter 3

Chris asked me to write this Chapter from his POV. He says he wants it that way because, "I want to give everyone a fresh view of this world, and doing it from my view will help that.", which translated to its simplest form means, "I'm not getting enough attention." After you're done here, go read his story and make him feel better, please? Otherwise he'll give me Eevee eyes for hours and complain about how I'm hogging all the spotlight, and he just look so pathetic when he does his Eevee eyes, you can't help but feel guilty…damn, he's doing it again! I better hurry up so he'll stop that… 

Note: This chapter is set about four weeks after Chp.2, about mid August

**__**

INTERTWINE DREAMS

**Chp.3- My house is becoming a free hotel for my friends.**

BRING! BRING!

*Click!*

"Hello?"

"Hello, is this the Canin residence?"

"Yes it is. May I ask who's calling?"

"Xavier? It's Chris!"

"Chris…oh, Chris, hey! Almost forgot you were coming into town today!"

"That's alright. Listen, we got a little problem here…"

"Uh-oh. What's wrong?"

"Well, you know that inn at the bottom of your hill? It appears they lost our reservation, and ever other place around here is booked full."

"That's not good…look, if you need a place to stay, we have a guest bedroom open here. It used to be one of my brother's rooms before…you know…"

"Yeah. Well, that's what we were hoping for…until a place opens up, of course."

"It's alright. We got Amber in the other guest room, but we still have plenty of room."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

"Where are you, anyway?"

"Open the door."

"Huh?"

"Open the front door."

"Alright, but I don't see what the…"

The door in front of me was opened, revealing a teenage brown-haired, blue eyed boy. He looked in surprise at me for a few seconds, then laughed a little.

"Surprise!" I said, shutting off my phone.

"Geez…" Xavier muttered, shutting off his phone. "You couldn't give me a little more warning than this?"

"Sorry. We wanted to surprise you, just not quite like this."

"It's alright…" Xavier looked up, seeing the company I'd taken with me. "and who's your friend here?"

"This," I said, looking up at the woman next to me, "is my wife, Andrea."

Andrea was currently in her mostly human form. I say mostly, because while she still has her human shaped body, a Vaporeons tail swishes proudly behind her. Her hair is the color of silver midnight. Her eyes are almond shaped pools of black, and a Vaporeons frill clings tightly around her neck. Her skin is a cream color with a small mix of cerulean to it.

As for myself, I look pretty much like a basic Flareon. I'm a bit larger than a normal Flareon, and my forepaws have supple fingers that allow me to hold and grab things. My back legs are much stronger than a normal Flareons, allowing me to walk upright with my cane, as I stood now. My eyes, however, are the oddest part. They're mostly black, but there are small flecks of sliver, green, blue and yellow mixed in with the almond blackness. I wore my black jean shorts and black collar with the russet and white beads worked into the leather. It's more like jewelry than anything else.

"Hello," Andrea said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you."

"Thank you. Here, let me help you with your things…" 

As we got everything into the house, Xavier's mother came down the stairs, asking what was going on. Xavier quickly explained the situation, and asked if we could stay for a few days. While she wasn't happy that she'd just been informed of this, she understood it was unavoidable, and agreed to put up with us for a few days.

"I'll go get the incubator out of the car, honey." Andrea said before going back outside.

"Incubator?" Xavier asked, confused.

"I told you we were bringing eggs with us, remember?" I reminded him.

"Oh, yeah. We're not gonna worry about them hatching anytime soon, are we? The place isn't exactly childproof."

"I'm not sure. It might be any day know."

Xavier groaned and shook his head. He was used to always being the youngest human kid in the home back in the old world, so he probably wasn't sure how to handle having Hybrid kids in the house, even if they weren't his siblings.

I didn't want to hurt Xavier's feelings at the time, but the real reason we had come to his house was because the hotel we were supposed to go had given us a, "We don't serve _your_ kind here, animal," kinda attitude when they realized Andrea and I were Hybrids. I needed some sort of explanation for why we had to stay at his home, and the story about the hotel losing our reservation was the best I could do. I later explained to Xavier what really happened, and he seemed to take it rather well.

Anyway, we'd gotten everything in and settled down just as it started to get dark. Pizzas were ordered for the five of us, (including Amber. They've been unable to get her home so far) so we ate and made general conversation for most of the night. I really wanted to talk about what had been happening with Xavier, Amber and all the others like us, who remember the old world, but it was hard to get away from Andrea and Xavier's mother. In the end, I decided to wait until morning to talk with them about it.

As we retired to bed for the night, I looked at Andrea, who'd went to her Hybrid form. She's mostly Vaporeon, but a little bigger, and able to walk on her hind legs. She has fingers like my own, though her eyes are normal. I'd barely been here a month, but after being here with her, I never want to go back. The old world barely had anything for me. Now, I seemed to have everything I could want.

"Your friend is nice." Andrea said, making herself comfortable under the blankets. She had them pulled up to her neck frill so that only her head was visible. As for myself, I had the lower half of my body covered.

"Yeah, he's a great guy. I'm glad we could stay here instead of wandering around looking for a hotel to stay in."

"Yes, well, I'm sure he wouldn't have let us do that…I'm still kind of surprised you two are such good friends."

"Why?"

"Well, he's a teenager, you're an adult. He's a human…most of the time anyway, and you're a Hybrid. You two seem so different from each other."

"Yes, but we still get along real well. I mean, look at us. I'm a fire-type, and you're a water-type; total opposites. Besides, you know how they say opposites attract… "

"Mm-hmm." Andrea moved over to me and began to nuzzle my neck with her nose.

"You're not listening to me anymore, are you?" I asked with a smile.

"Well, how can I concentrate with this hot, fiery creature next to me?…" she said slyly, slowly kissing my neck and working her way up my muzzle.

I worked my way down into the covers more, placing my arms around my wife as she kissed the edge of my muzzle. Looks like it's gonna be a long night…

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Pant,pant,pant*

"Huh?…" What the heck was that sound? As my eyes slowly fluttered open, I took a sniff of the air, trying to see if someone else was here besides Andrea. Big mistake.

"GAH!" I threw my arms over my nose, trying to block out the terrible smell. "Dog breath!"

"Surprise!" a new voice said.

"What the?!…" I looked to my right at the owner of this new voice. "Xavier?!"

"Fire Storm." the Growlithe corrected. "Xavier is the name of my human form."

"Right…so what are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"Early? It's 10:30!"

"It is?…" I glanced over at the clock on the nearby dresser. It was in fact 10:30. "Thanks for the pleasant awakening…"

"No problem!" Fire Storm smiled and walked to the foot of the bed, taking a seat. "So, you have any plans for today?"

"Yes, but waking up in your bad breath wasn't part of them!"

"Oh come on. You surprised me yesterday, so I decided to surprise you today! Is that such a bad thing?"

"Oh, alright…" I slowly pulled my hands away from my nose, stretching my arms. Andrea was still asleep next to me, the covers just a little under her neck frill, while the covers on me were a few inches above my waist. "Well, I was planning to talk to you and Amber about how we returned to this world, even though it's just us and a few others who know that the world changed back again…"

"Yeah…" Fire Storm still doesn't believe me when I tell him that this is the real world, and that the old world was just a false reality that lacked many things this world has. I've tried to tell him, but he still wants to return to the old world and go back to his real family, if that's even possible anymore. I don't know what else to tell him. 

How do I know this is the real world, and the old world, or Shadow World as I like to call it, wasn't the real one? Well, when my human and Flareon spirits finally rejoined when I first came here, all the memories and warmth and love I've been missing from this life returned to me. Since then, I've just known that this is the real world, no matter what Fire Storm believes or says.

"Well, if you want to talk, the Apple Bee's in the plaza is a good place. We can eat and talk without being disturbed. We could go get lunch ther…oh, wait…"

"What's wrong?" I asked, seeing the look of worry on Fire Storm's face.

"You remember how I told you about how Phoenix is in love with my Hybrid form, even though she's my mother?"

"Yes…you _really_ got to tell her the truth."

"I know, I know…anyway, she wants to go out to lunch later with me. She asked me a long time ago, and I keep putting it off. She's starting to get upset, so I finally promised her today I'd go."

"Alright, but this is getting kind of disturbing. You need to tell her real soon, before she permanently imprints on you."

"I know I have to, but…she seems so happy when she's with my Hybrid self. If I tell her, she'd feel sick that she's been dreaming about spending the rest of her life with me as her mate, and I'm not sure what she'll do when she finds out. Hell, it's making _me_ sick as it is, but at least she's happy. Besides being with me, I'm not sure what else she has. Dad's gone to God only knows where, her family is either dead or in another part of the world…I think I'm all she has left."

"Oh…still, this cou…"

"Come on, Houndor." Xavier's mother called out from outside the room. "Let's go see if our guests are up."

"Alright, Ms. Canin." said another voice, who I assumed was Houndor. Two sets of footsteps could be heard, someone on two legs, and someone on four legs.

"SHIT!" Fire Storm suddenly leapt to the floor and dove under the bed, scrambling to get in. He just got under when the door opened again, this time revealing his mother and Houndor.

"Hello, Dr. Bradford. Just checking to see if you were up yet." she said, looking around the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thank you. This is a very nice place you have…"

"Get her outta here!" Fire Storm whispered from under the bed. "Blaze is back at the Center. If she sees me, she's gonna get real curious!"

"Uh…what do you have for breakfast?" I asked, hoping that maybe she'd leave to check.

"Well, we have bacon, eggs, sausage, pancakes, waffles…" she ran off a whole list of things. While I patiently listened, Houndor sniffed the air, then walked over the side of the bed, looking under it.

"Fire Storm? What are you doing here?" Houndor asked questionably, trying to get under the bed.

"Fire Storm? Here?" Xavier's mother seemed confused. 

"What?!" For a second, I forgot that experienced Hybrids can understand Pokémon speech even in their human forms. You'd have to be a Hybrid for a quite a number of years. I'm told that Hybrids like Xavier's mother still hear exactly what humans do in their human forms, but they also develop a sixth sense that tells them what a Pokemon is saying.

"Fire Storm…Who's that?" I asked quickly. Of course I knew, but I had to pretend I didn't, so Xavier's mother wouldn't get suspicious. 

"Fire Storm? Oh! He's…uh…I…" Apparently she wasn't going to reveal her secret to me. "Listen, Dr. Bradfo…"

"Please, just Chris. I'm only Dr. Bradford to my co-workers and patients, so unless you're pregnant or have an egg on the way, please call me Chris." 

"Yes, Chris…please, don't mention this to Xavier. I really don't think he'll understand…"

"Alright…um, may I get some clothes on here?"

"Of course. I need to run to town for a few minutes anyway. Do you mind getting breakfast for yourself?"

"Not at all." Xavier's mother closed the door, leaving Houndor and Fire Storm in with me. 

"Houndor, get out of here! I'm shifting back!"

"Why? I have to…ah!" Houndor suddenly bolted out from under the bed, and there were odd noises coming from under the bed. Soon a pair of four-toed fur covered human shaped feet popped out of one end of the bed, and a human-sized Growlithe head came out of the other.

"Damn! That was _way_ too close!" Fire Storm crawled out from under the bed. I quickly turned my head away as he came out.

"Chris? What wrong?"

"Well…you're in the full fur, aren't you?"

"Of course not! You think I'd be dumb enough to shift forms without some clothes?!"

I slowly turned around, relieved and surprised to find Fire Storm wearing a pair of loose jean shorts. Usually, when a Hybrid goes to their Pokémon form, only skintight stuff will shift with them.

"How'd you get those to shift with you?"

"What, these?" Fire Storm briefly looked down at the pants he was wearing. "Oh, these things have a slight coat of some sort of chemical that allows them to shift with me if I go to Pokémon form."

"Yes, I've heard of those kind of clothes…but I thought that stuff was extremely expensive. Where'd you get the money to buy it?"

"Well, I _am_ a bounty hunter, and I can't exactly spend all of my money on video games and stuff; Mom get suspicious and ask where all the money was coming from. These seemed like a good investment." 

"Good idea." A car started outside, then drove away a few moments later. Fire Storm quickly looked out the window, sighing with relief.

"Mom's gone. I'm gonna go upstairs and throw on a shirt before I head out of here. We'll talk tonight, alright?"

"Alright. Bye!" Fire Storm left while I threw on a pair of shorts and a collar. I just heard him leave as I left the room. Not bothering with my cane, I walked out on all fours into the dining room to check on the eggs.

The incubator was still sitting on the table where we'd left it. The two light brown eggs sat softly on pillows, each about the size of my head. I smiled as I thought about how I'd helped to create the inhabitants of those eggs. All the other kids are at home, being watched by their grandparents.

Andrea came out in her mostly human form soon after. She sighed happily when she saw me looking over our eggs.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?" she said as she walked over, taking a seat on the chair next to me. I nodded in response. 

"Of course they are. Look at who their mother is…" I said with a smile.

"Oh Chris!" Andrea blushed at this. "You had a hand in this too, you know!"

"And tell me again just why you made Brian and Serena adopt eggs Seven and Eight? It's not like we don't have love enough to spare."

"Look, Darling, we've been over this before, I would like to have our children spaced apart by more than three months. That's why, after John and Bill hatched, I insisted that you use protection for nearly five years."

I lowered my ears in resigned surrender, "Okay, Andrea, you're right, again. But I'm telling you this, when you lay Nine and Ten in a couple months, we're keeping them. No pawning them off to Brian, let alone Angie, and that tribe of hers.

"Enough about that. While Fire Storm's filling in as Oedipus, we can go raid the refrigerator and watch the tube."

I padded over to the fridge, and pulled out some hamburger meat, and four eggs. Andrea went searching through the cupboards for something made from either raspberries or blackberries. She found a jar of blackberry jam, and a second trip that she made to the refrigerator turned up a tub of blackberry yogurt. "Hey, looks like we have the makings for an Eevee-style omelet," I said, my tail wagging as the items were laid out on the counter. "Andrea, I'll get the TV ready while you get our breakfast made."

Half an hour later, we were snuggled on the floor in front of the TV, watching the Mariners play a hard game against Cleveland, and eating our omelets. Xavier walked in just as the top of the 8th was starting.

"How'd everything go?" I asked.

"Alright. I tried to tell Phoenix I'm interested in her as a friend and a partner, nothing more."

"Well, that's something, I suppose…"

"I'm not finished…" Xavier cut in.

"Oh."

"When I said partner, she immediately hugged me and tried to kiss me. She must've thought I meant life partners…"

"Oh…"

"Once I broke her grip, I told her I meant partners in bounty hunting. She said she understands, but she also said that last week, and she hasn't given up on me."

"Hmm…she's not making this easy for you…or herself, for that matter."

"I know, I know…"

There was the sound of a car pulling up, and Xavier's mother came in a few moments later.

"Hi everyo…Xavier! Did you just get in too?" she asked, seeing Xavier still standing by the door.

"Yeah, I just got back."

"Ah…where's Amber? I haven't seen her all day."

"Come to think of it, neither have I." Xavier said, heading off to the bedroom Amber was sleeping in. 

"She's still here? Geez, I never noticed." I said, following Xavier in.

Amber was in her Hybrid form, her tail flame just poking out under the covers. The mass under the blankets, though, seemed far too large for her form, even if her wings weren't folded down.

"Amber? Amber!" Xavier walked over and gently shook Amber's arm, trying to wake her. "It's almost three in the afternoon!"

"Mmpphh." was the reply. She seemed happy just where she was, but Xavier continued to try and wake her.

"You woke me up and not her?!" I asked, somewhat annoyed.

"Oh come on. She's had a rough time here…"

She slowly started to stir, letting out a loud yawn as she picked herself up. She was still wearing the same clothes she was yesterday, probably falling asleep before she had a chance to change them.

"Good morning…" she mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"Afternoon!" I pointed out.

"Really? Sorry, but I was having this nice dream…"

"No proble…Amber?" Xavier questioned, reaching for something under the covers.

"Yes?"

"What's this book I lent you doing on your bed…come to think of it," Xavier looked around the room quickly. "where are all those books I lent you to read?"

"Oh…they're around…" She looked down nervously at the bed.

"Around? What?" Xavier noticed how she was staring at the bed, and yanked off the covers.

"Amber!"

"Sorry. I'm kind of a bookworm, but I had nothing else to do with all those books when I was done with them…"

"But sleeping on them?!"

There were about thirty books sitting under the covers, arranged in a pile. It's one of those weird dragon things; they love sleeping on stuff. Why do you think all those dragons in video games and RPG's always have such big piles of treasure? So they have something to sleep on!

"Amber, that's not exactly a smart idea. What happens if your tail flame gets too close to the books?!"

"Sorry, _Dad_." Amber sighed. "Look, I'm careful about it. I'm not going to set the books on…"

"FIRE!" 

"Yeah! I'm really caref…"

"No, FIRE!" Xavier pointed to one of the books. Amber's tail had accidentally lit it, and it was now burning rapidly.

"Geez!" Amber quickly grabbed the book, tossed it on the floor and stomped on it till the fire died down.

"See what I mean?"

"Alright, I'll be more careful! Come on, get out of here so I can change!" We were quickly shooed out by Amber, the door closing behind us.

"Well, that was interesting…" I noted.

"To say the least…" Xavier added with a nod. "Anyway…Mom said she was going to take us all to Apple Bee's tonight. We probably should be ready by about six, because the plaza can be a mess at night."

"Sounds good. We'll be ready th…AH!"

"What's wrong?!"

"Seattle has the bases loaded with two outs!" I quickly ran back to my spot on the couch and watched the game, not wanting to miss another minute.

Unfortunately, Ichiro flied out to left field on the next pitch, and the game quickly moved into extra innings. Finally, Seattle won it in the 17th, and by then we had to leave.

By the time we actually got into Apple Bees and seated, it was almost seven, and the Mets were playing on a TV at the nearby bar. While we waited for our food to be delivered, Xavier watched the game with great attention. Even though the Mets haven't been .500% or above in the win column all season, I still have to respect Xavier's dedication to his team. Still, I couldn't help but notice the loud groan when a relief pitcher was called in.

"Not Franco! Valentine, you fool! Keep Leiter in!"

"Problem?" I asked.

"No, Valentine's just over-managing again…" he sighed, shaking his head.

"Well, maybe you just admit the Mets have no chance this year. I mean, they're what, 10 games out of first place with about 25 games to go? They're not gonna make it."

"Look, Seattle boy, I don't need your advice on my team right now. You're the one in the high chair! Besides, you shouldn't argue with me, or I'll tell Andrea something she definitely won't want to hear…"

"Oh yeah? What?" I asked, ignoring the remark about my height. Since the normal seats around the table were too short for me to sit in and reach the table, I had to have something like a high chair bought over. There was no little table in front of me, and the chair was close enough so I could reach my food on the regular table, but I still felt like a little Eevee.

"Well…" Xavier leaned close and whispered something in my ear. I swear I almost passed out when he was finished.

"You wouldn't!" I cried out. It was a little loud, but Andrea, Amber and Xavier's mother were in the middle of a conversation and didn't hear us. 

"Are you willing to bet on that?"

"It's perfectly natural for Eon's to mate with someone other than their wife!"

"Yes, but I know how much Andrea would hate to hear about it…"

"You wouldn't!" 

"Really? I wonder what'll happen when I tell her about all those times with the Jolteon across the street…"

"Who do you think she'll believe, her husband or a teenager?!"

"Shall we find out?"

"Alright, alright, I'll be quiet!" 

There's nothing odd about Eons mating with someone who isn't his or her wife or husband, but Andrea still doesn't like it. She doesn't mate with other males, and she expects me not to mate with other females. I try hard, but once in a while…well, if Andrea found out, I'd be one wet, sore Flareon.

Our food soon arrived, so we all started to eat and carry on a normal conversation. The food was great, but just a little undercooked. Apparently, listening at the table next to us, we weren't the only ones with that problem. 

"Dang…my pasta's cold in the center." the Typhlosin Hybrid said to himself, poking at it with his fork. "Well…I suppose I could warm it up with a little Ember…"

The Hybrid sat so I could see his face; it was mostly Typhlosin, but his eyes seemed a little farther back in his head than a normal Typholsion's eyes are. He appeared to be about as tall as Xavier, and about a year younger than him. He had a fairly good build for someone his age; not quite Fire Storm's physique in his Hybrid form, but above average for a 15 year old. His fur was mostly a cream color down the front, and a dark blue everywhere else. There was a half ring of fire around the back of his neck (which probably explains why he sat against the wall. Even though he kept those flames from burning the wall, people tend to get nervous when they see fire around their head.), and his hands only had four fingers each; three like a Typhlosin, and a human thumb. When I looked around the table, I saw he wore a T-shirt and jeans. It seemed odd that a boy that young was all along at the table. I wondered where his family was.

The Hybrid took a few deep breaths, then breathed on his food, trying to create an Ember, I guess. I say I guess, because nothing happened. He tried this a few times, but still nothing happened. After about the tenth try, he seemed to get frustrated.

"That's it!" The Typhlosin took one huge breath, then unleashed it.

FWWWOOOSSSHHHH!!

Well, he succeeded in warming his food. Unfortunately, he got a FlameThrower instead of an Ember, and burnt it and the table to a blackened crisp. Alarmed by the sudden burst of flame, he quickly stopped the blast and looked in shock at the ashes that were left of his table.

"Not again…" he moaned. He looked down at the ashes for a little while longer, then took off out the doors just as the manager came out and saw what happened. 

"What the…?!" He quickly ran over to the table, then demanded to know what happened. Others sitting nearby told him, and he stormed off into the back room.

"Well, that was certainly interesting…" Xavier noted, looking over at the remains.

"That boy needs to work on his control." Andrea said with a nod before going back to her food.

Dinner was finished without any other incidents. When we finished, Andrea took the incubator back to the van, but we had to run back because Xavier's mother forgot her purse. Andrea started to bring back the incubator, but I told her not to bother.

"We'll only be gone a minute. The eggs will be fine by themselves." I assured her.

"I suppose…" Even still, Andrea locked the car totally before we ran back in.

The purse was found quickly, and we weren't even gone thirty seconds. We were all looking forward to getting home, and I was finally going to get to talk to Xavier and Amber about what had happened. It seemed like nothing could go wrong…

I'll never forget what happened next.

"Mom…This is where we parked, right?"

"Of course we parked here…oh my God…"

"The car's gone!" We all rushed over to the empty parking spot where the car once was.

"Where the he…ohhhh…" Amber moaned and held her head. All the sudden, I seemed to have a splitting headache, as did everyone else.

"Alpha waves," Xavier's mother pointed out, stumbling out of the space. "Must've been left by a powerful psychic type…"

"Yes, you're rig…Chris!" Andrea yelled.

"What?!"

"The eggs! We left the eggs in the car!"

"Wha…oh no!" Someone stole our eggs! Oh God, our children! Where were they?! Who could do this?!

We quickly called the police, who quickly sealed off the area. We waited for hours, which seemed like weeks to me. My children were in danger, and I couldn't do a thing about it. When I found out who did this…damn it! I was so frustrated, I couldn't even think about what I was going to do to them! 

"Officer Jenny…" Xavier called out, trying to get some information. "Can you tell us anything?"

"I'm afraid not…" Jenny said, shaking her head. "All we know for sure is that a powerful psychic type teleported the car away somewhere within 10 miles of here…at least that's what our instruments tell us. We're not even sure if it was a Hybrid or a Pokémon."

I was quiet for most of it, still trying to figure out what kind of monster could do something like this. The car was bad enough, but children? My children!

"Chris…if they don't get the eggs back soon…" Andrea started to sob, but she didn't have to finish. I knew what she meant.

Hybrids are a lot like Pokemon in many ways, especially Hybrids that are hatched. Often, a Hybrid will imprint on the first thing it sees as one of its parents, and the next thing it sees as the other parent. If a Hybrid who imprints like that is taken away from its believed parents, it tends to become uncooperative and unmanageable, often refusing to obey its new parents. Our eggs were ready to hatch soon, and if they hatched in the hands of the crooks that took our eggs…I couldn't imagine that scenario.

"Don't worry, everyone. We'll find these guys. We've solved these kind of cases on a lot less." Jenny assured us before running off to an officer who'd called for her.

Great, _that _was reassuring. I sighed and shook my head. It seemed so hopel…

"No." 

The voice was barely audible; even my sensitive ears barely picked it up. I looked up at Xavier, and I swear I saw fire in his eyes.

"_I'll_ find them."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we finally returned back to the house, everyone was upset and frustrated. We all went to our rooms, but I'm sure no one slept for hours. I know I was up all night. Andrea didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m., and that was only after I assured her about a hundred times everything was going to be all right.

I collapsed onto my pillow, my head a sea of fear, anger and despair. I know Xavier said he was going to do something about it, but what? Even in his Hybrid form, what was he going to be able to do?

"Chris? Chris!"

Fire Storm gently opened the door and poked his head in. He was in his Hybrid form, judging by the way that his head was at the top of the door.

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Mom's gone. I'm going after her."

"What?! She's gone too?!"

"Yeah." Fire Storm waved a digital phone. "She just called. She tried to tell me something, but about ten seconds in, she screamed and the phone went dead. I gotta find her."

"Wait…" I threw of the covers and jumped down, not having the chance to change out of my clothes before going to bed. "I'm coming with you."

"Chris, this is gonna get real dangerous…"

"They're my eggs! I'm not just going to sit around while they're with some nutcase!"

Fire Storm sighed and shook his head while I padded over to my cane and grabbed it. I didn't care; I was getting my eggs back. Actually, this seemed kind of ironic; I was supposed to be the adult, yet I was the one being treated like a kid.

Fire Storm had on a black leather jacket and jeans as we got outside. I was surprised to see the black convertible parked outside, till I noticed Fire Storm's Pokémon and Nurse Joy sitting in the back.

"Here you go…" Nurse Joy said with a yawn. "I assume I'll be getting extra for this?"

"Of course. We'll drive you back to the Center, and then we'll be on our way."

We drove to the Pokemon Center where Fire Storm worked and dropped Joy off before moving on.

"Fire Storm…why did Joy bring this car to your house?" I asked once we started off again. 

"Oh, that…Joy knows about me and Mom, and lets us keep our weapons in the Center's basement for a small fee. I also pay her to do extra things, like bringing the car or covering for me while I'm out with Phoenix."

"I see…and the Pokémon?" Looking in the backseat, I noticed Nidorino, Feraligater, Furret and Dragoniar. Eevee and Houndor were still back at the house.

"Well, I keep these guys with me when I'm alone, just in case. I don't bring them if I'm with Phoenix, because then she'll know who I am."

"Okay…and where are we going?"

"A place called the Muk Pit in Oldbrugh. It's a cheesy bar, but the guy who runs it has a lot of underground connections. He might have an idea about what happened with Phoenix or the eggs."

"Ah…" We drove in silence for about ten minutes before pulling up to a old building with a weak sign that flashed, "Muk Pit." 

"You coming or staying?" Fire Storm asked as he got out of the car.

"I'm coming. I want to know as soon as possible where my children are." I said as I opened the door and hopped out.

"Alright, but I gotta warn you, this place is a hell hole." Fire Storm informed me as he walked over and pushed open the door. 

As soon as I walked in, the smell of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke hit me hard. The place was dimly lit, the only lights coming from hanging lamps over some pool tables and a fluorescent light coming from the bar. There were Hybrids and humans alike playing pool or laying on the bar, probably passed out. Looking behind the bar, I saw a Muk; Hybrid or Pokémon, I couldn't tell. Either this was a Hybrid with an almost totally Pokémon form, or someone trained a Muk to mix drinks.

"Hey, Muk!" Fire Storm walked over to the bar and took a seat, sitting as far as possible from the others hanging around the table. I managed to climb up the stool with a little work. "How's my favorite sewage creature?"

"Geez, not you…" Now that I was close, I could tell that the Muk was a Hybrid; it looked totally like a Muk Pokémon, except it hands were human shaped, and each finger was painted with black nail polish. Sighing, it asked, "The usual?"

"Yeah, but make it double. I've got a friend tonight." Fire Storm said, glancing down at me.

"Sure. Two beers, coming up."

"You drink beer?!" I whispered fiercely at Fire Storm. "What are you, nuts?!"

"It's a beer of sorts…" Fire Storm said with a sigh.

Muk turned back around, placing a sludge-covered glass in front of each of us. The substance inside had a blackish color to it. What kind of beer was this?

"Thanks…" Fire Storm looked at his glass for a moment before pushing on a non sludge covered spot with his finger. "Surprising as it may be, I'm not here for the drinks tonight."

"Hey, you don't like the way my business is run, you can leave." Muk offered. I cautiously stuck a finger in the glass, then licked away the liquid that had collected on it. It was beer, all right. _Root_ beer.

"Actually, your business is something I'm very concerned with at the moment. My friend here lost his eggs and van, and now my partner's gone missing. Care to explain how that happened?"

"Hey, I run a honest business around here…"

"Yeah, you're about as honest as you are clean. Now, have you heard anything from my partner or about a stolen van with eggs in it, or do I have to call all your, 'clients', and inform them about all the money you've stolen from them?" Fire Storm said with a slight growl at the end.

"Spill it!" I demanded, readying a Flame Wheel in my fire sac.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not get ahead of ourselves here!" Muk held out his hands in front of him as he backed against the wall. "I…might've overheard…something about a van with eggs in it being stolen. Rumor is one of my best clients directly ordered that van been taken, and to make sure that eggs were in it…"

"Alright…where is this guy?"

"What, didn't your bitch tell you?"

"Phoenix? First of all, she's no bitch. Secondly, no, I haven't seen her all night."

"Whatever…anyway, she was in here asking about the same thing. I told her the guy's name was Daley. Owns an abandoned building about four miles from here. Tried to tell her, but she wouldn't listen…"

"Tell her what?" I asked.

"This Daley guy, the one who ordered the heist, apparently also wants your…and _your,_" he added, looking over at me, "furry tails on his trophy wall. As soon as she heard that, your bitch was outta here…"

"WHAT?!" Fire Storm stood up, pulled out a gun and pointed it about two feet in front of the Muk Hybrid, who cowered against the wall.

"This is a Zap Cannon 3000. You have ten seconds to tell me the address of this place before I shoot. At point blank, I'll coat the walls with your slimy hide." Fire Storm said coldly, his middle finger just millimeters from the trigger.

"Yo…You wouldn't!" Muk stammered.

"10!"

"683 Dallas Road, that's all I know! I swear!"

Fire Storm held the gun for a few more seconds, then slowly put it away and left. I quickly followed him out, shocked at what had just happened. I didn't think Fire Storm had it in him.

"You…weren't _really_ gonna shoot him, were you?" I asked as we got back in the car.

"Of course not…"

"Good…"

"Do you know how long it takes to clean this jacket to begin with? I don't want to have to clean the smell of Muk out of it too."

"Uh…I hope that wasn't all you were worried about…"

"Well…the sludge probably would've clogged up the gun..."

"Fire Storm!"

"I was kidding!" Fire Storm assured me. "I have to act tough out here. In case you haven't realized, this ain't a business for the easily scared."

"Alright…" Did he really mean that? He sounded serious when he threatened to pull the trigger…

As we drove, I thought about what Fire Storm had been put through in the short month since we'd returned here from the Shadow World. He's had to go from having a huge family to just living with his mother. He has to adjust to being a creature that he created. He has to get used to putting his life on the line every few nights to protect his mother and make a couple of bucks for himself. He's has to grow up fast to adjust to what is, for him at least, a totally foreign world.

We went by the building in about ten minutes, but Fire Storm drove right past it. I watched as we passed it, confused.

"Fire Storm, you drove by the building!" I pointed out.

"I know. I'm gonna park the car somewhere away from here, and then we'll go in."

Two minutes later, the car was parked in the woods and all six of us we're walking back to the building. Fire Storm explained to us what was going to happen as we walked in.

"Chris, I'll go in and make sure it's safe. You stay out here with my Pokemon and be ready to come in if I call for you. Got it?"

"No! I'm coming in wi…"

"Dammit Chris!" Fire Storm yelled. "Listen to me! I've done this before, and you haven't! Now either listen to me or get back in the car!"

"Fire Storm…" I lowered my head and flattened my ears, showing I wasn't going to argue. It was obvious this was getting him very upset.

"Fire Storm! Why are you yelling at Chris?!" Dragoniar asked in surprise. "He didn't do any of this!"

"Oh God…sorry Chris, it's just…" Fire Storm sighed and shook his head. "This has been way too much to deal with lately. I just wanted to have you over, talk this over, and try to have an otherwise normal time. Instead, everything's just gone crazy. I mean, it's bad enough I can't see my real family and you're stuck as a Flareon Hybrid. I didn't want this to happen, too. Hell, I wanted to go out as soon as we got home, but I had to wait for Phoenix to call; otherwise, it would've looked suspicious if she found out I went looking for the eggs of her sons friends without any notice from her."

"I know you're upset, but how many times do I need to tell you that none of this is your fault? This is the way things are supposed to be! I know it seems all wrong, and it felt that way at first for me too! I know you want to go back home to your family, but you have to understand that you have to concentrate on what's happening here! If you keep looking back on the way things were, then you'll never be ready for what's ahead!"

"You know, that sounded really lame…"

"Yeah…"

"Still, you're right. I've got to focus on what's ahead…alright!" Fire Storm looked around quickly. "I'm gonna check the perimeter and make sure it safe, and then we'll go in."

"Good." Fire Storm started off toward the building while me and his Pokémon waited off in the trees.

"Hey, Chris…" Feraligater asked. "Can we talk?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Listen…this might seem kinda weird, but has Fire Storm been acting…different to you lately?"

"Different? How?"

"Well…he seemed O.K. till about a month ago, then he started getting all weird. When he woke up one day, first he coughed an Ember out the window, then hit his foot a little while later. Suddenly he was talking about how Hybrids and Pokémon weren't real…it was really creepy."

"Oh…well, it probably has something to do with…his age." I had to struggle for an answer that they'd understand. Somehow, I don't think they'd buy the, "just transported here from another world", idea.

"His age?" Nidorino asked. "What does his age have to do with anything?"

"Uh…people at his age tend to act strangely because of…the way their bodies are changing. All the hormones involved tend to make them do things or act in ways they usually wouldn't."

"Wait…when you say the way their bodies are changing, are you talking about evolving?" Furret asked, still confused.

"No, no…" Geez, they were making this difficult. "I mean how his body is maturing as he's become older. He's becoming more…developed, that's all."

"Developed? I don't get it…" Dragoniar said.

"Me too." Nidorino agreed.

"I'm lost…" Feraligater added.

"I thought a doctor would be able to explain this a lot better." Furret chimed in.

I sighed and shook my head. Somehow, I thought Fire Storm might be a little upset about me talking about his anatomy with his Pokémon.

"Anyway, it's not just that. That same day, he was at the Center, and he was talking about how much the woman who came into the Center liked him." Feraligater continued.

"So?"

"It was Phoenix! She's his mother, and he was acting like nothing was wrong with what she was doing! When he left, I almost got sick!"

"Oh…" This was going to be difficult to explain. "Well, Fire Storm might've simply gotten a little carried away with his acting, that's all. He does have to be convincing."

"I dunno…he seemed serious when we talked about it." Furret pointed out.

"Yes, but didn't he also spend almost five minutes when he got home getting sick over the sink?" I reminded .

"That's true. It wasn't very pleasant sounding, either. He woke me up with it and almost got me sick." Nidorino said with a shudder.

"We're clear." Fire Storm quickly came running back. "There's not a guard outside the place, and no sort of security system at all. It's almost like they're inviting us in."

"Well, I've never turned down an invitation before. Why start now?" I asked.

Fire Storm nodded. "Let's get moving."

Fire Storm led the way, with me following right behind and his Pokémon behind me. The building itself was very run down and looked like it was ready to collapse on itself. It still gets me how anyone would want to use a building like that.

"Why couldn't criminals use something a little more cozy, like a mansion or fancy hotel?" Fire Storm asked no one in particular as he moved over to the door. "I mean, come on! This is the sixth abandoned building this month I've been in. How about something original?!" 

"Sorry, I can't help there. I'm a expert on birthing, not the criminal mind." I pointed out as I pressed myself against the wall of the building.

"That's alright." Fire Storm pulled out his I.D. with his left hand and held the Zap Cannon 3000 in his right hand. Taking a few deep breaths, Fire Storm quickly kicked in the door and began to go in.

"Bail enforceme…what the fuck?!"

I peered around the corner of the doorway to see what was happening. All I saw was one huge Pokémon battle arena. There were lights that shone in the arena, but that was about it. The place appeared to be empty of people.

"This is odd…" I followed Fire Storm in, looking around for anyone. He put away his I.D., but kept the Cannon out. 

"What the heck is this?" Nidorino asked as he and the rest of the Pokémon followed us in. "An arena? Here?"

"I don't get it either. This is not normal…"

"Dr. Bradford! Fire Storm! So good of you to come."

More lights suddenly kicked on, flooding the whole building with light. Once my vision returned, I saw the other person with us in the building. He sat on the other end of the arena, a content smile on his face, or at least that's what it looked like with what little I could see. About 2/3 of his face was covered by shadows, leaving me to see the lower right part of his face. It kinda reminded me of the way I've seen Giovanni sometimes on the cartoon.

"Hey, you! Hands up!" Fire Storm ordered, pointing his Cannon at the man.

"Hmmph. You think your pathetic little guns will do anything here?" the man asked with a little laugh.

"Well, let's see!" Fire Storm pulled the trigger and fired a blast at the man. The ball of light erupted from the gun, but when it was about ten feet from the man, it simply disappeared into nothing.

"As I said, your pathetic guns will do nothing here. You might as well put that away." the man said as we all stared in shock.

"Grrr…" Fire Storm growled as he put the gun back in his jacket. "Alright, who are you? What are you doing here?"

"As you probably know, my name is Daley, and yes, I do have your eggs, Dr. Bradford, as well as your mother, Fire Storm…or would prefer FireHybrid?"

"What?!" That caught us both off guard. How did this guy know that Phoenix was Fire Storm's mother? Better yet, how did he know his pen name?!

"Sorry, buddy, but she's my partner and nothing more." Fire Storm said, trying not to blow his cover. "And who the hell is FireHybrid? What kind of dumb name is…"

"Please, spare me your lies. I'd like to get this over with quickly." Though I couldn't see any movement from him, a PokéBall landed on his side of the arena. "Go, Venasaur!"

"Veeennnnaaaa!" the Pokémon yelled when it was released.

"What? That's it? No explinations, no answers, just battle?!" I yelled. "What the hell are you trying to pull?!"

"If you refuse to battle, I can easily change your minds…"

"How?"

There were two loud clicks, and suddenly parts of the walls by Daley began to slide down. When we saw what was behind there, we couldn't believe our eyes.

"Phoenix!"

"My eggs!"

Behind one wall was Phoenix, lying unconscious in a cage. It was suspended above a pool of water, which didn't seem so dangerous in itself, unless it was water from a Pokémon. The other sight, though, was what chilled me. The incubator, which still contained my eggs, was sitting on a platform that was below a huge steel crusher. Both the cage and crusher were slowly being lowered down to the water and incubator, respectively.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Fire Storm yelled.

"The one in control of their fates. That is pure Sedrea water, in case you're wondering. Now, if you battle me, and you win, I'll let them both go. If you lose, or take too long, well…" 

"Alright! I'll battle!" Fire Storm stepped into the trainer box on his side of the arena. "Nidorino, I choose you!"

"I'm ready!" Nidorino rushed out to his side of the arena. Both Pokémon and trainers stared each other down, one waiting for the other to make the first move.

"Venasaur, Razor Leaf!"

"Yes, Master!" he responded, sending multiple sharp leaves hurtling toward Nidorino.

"Nidorino, use Poison Sting to knock down the leaves!" Fire Storm yelled.

"Right!" Nidorino began launching small white needles from his mouth at the leaves. He knocked some of them down, but he was also hit with a few of them, as were me and Fire Storm.

"Hey!" I yelled as a leaf took a small chunk out of my fur. "Watch it!"

"Do not concern yourself with them, Venasaur." Daley dismissed. "Focus on the battle!"

"Yes, Master!"

"Nidorino, Horn Attack!"

"Eat horn, you giant weed!" Nidorino yelled, charging at Venasaur. Launching himself at Venasaur, he buried his horn into the Venasaur's front left leg. Nidorino pulled himself out, allowing a little blood to spill out of the wound. When I looked close, I could also see his horn had acquired a bit of blood as well.

"Venasaur, get it away from you." 

"Yes, Master!" Using his injured leg, he rose its giant paw and smacked Nidorino back. Nidorino slid across the arena and almost back to Fire Storm's feet.

"Nidorino!" Fire Storm knelt down to look at his Pokémon, but kept his hands back. One of the most basic rules about Pokémon battles; you can't touch your Pokémon, or that Pokémon is automatically out of the fight. "Are you alright?!"

"Ow…I've felt better…" Nidorino admitted, getting to his feet.

"Can you still battle?"

"Yeah, I think I…whoa!" Vines suddenly wrapped around Nidorino, pulling him back to Venasaur. Nidorino dug his claws into the ground as he was dragged, leaving marks in the ground.

"Nidorino!" Nidorino was repeatedly picked up and slammed into the ground by Venasaur. Fire Storm dug into his pocket after about the 5th time Nidorino was dropped.

"Nidorino, return!" Fire Storm withdrew a PokéBall and recalled Nidorino. I know he hated the balls, but they do have their benefits.

"Venasaur, return."

"Yes, Master!" A red beam shot out from Daley, hitting Venasaur and pulling him back to his ball.

"Doesn't that thing know how to say anything else?" I asked.

"It knows how to say what's important, Chris…or would you prefer AuitzogChernobyl?"

"What?!"

"I know everything about you two, as well as your friends. Tygerwind, Scott, PokeBobVaporeon, The Seraph, Amber; all of them. I have an eye on them at all times, as well as you two."

"Alright, who the hell do you think you are?!" I yelled, practically feeling my blood boiling with rage.

"Now, now, you'd better pay attention to the battle, before it's too late…" 

I glanced over at the eggs and Phoenix. Both were about a quarter of the way closer to their ends than they were in the beginning.

"Go, Machoke!" A PokéBall landed on Daley's side of the arena, releasing a Machoke.

"Alright…Dragoni…"

"No."

Fire Storm looked down at me in surprise. I threw my cane to the side and walked out into the arena.

"This one's mine!" I growled, pawing the ground.

"Chris, you can't handle a Machoke! He'll toss your tail all over the place!"

"No! This guy's too scared to fight his own battles, so he sends out his brainwashed Pokémon to fight for him! He doesn't care about developing a relationship with his Pokémon like you do; your Pokémon are willing to fight for you out of their friendship and care for you, not just because they've been told to do so! As for me, I fight my own Pokémon battles!"

"Hmm…I hadn't expected this…" Ignoring my words of disapproval, Daley said, "This will be interesting. I'll allow it."

"Flare!" I shot an Ember at the Machoke, hitting him square in the chest. He stumbled back a little from the force of the blast.

"Machoke, pound him into the ground!"

"Yes, Master!" The Machoke ran forward, then dove toward me. I leapt to the side, feeling its hands brush against my fur as it went flying by.

The Machoke quickly recovered and charged at me. I waited for him to come, preparing for the attack. It swung a fist down at me just as I leapt back. The force of the blow damaged the ground underneath it. That was pretty scary, but I was too full of adrenaline to care about it.

"Take this!" I yelled, charging and Tackling the Machoke. We both fell to the ground, but it grabbed me as we hit the ground.

I fought with the Machoke as it got back up, still keeping its hold on me. It refused to relax its grip, and soon it was swinging me by my tail. Round and round and round…I thought I was going to be sick. 

"Machoke, release it!"

"Yes, Master!" It spun me around two more times, then let go.

"FLARE!" I flew about thirty feet before smashing into the wall. I slid down slowly, feeling the pain shooting through my body.

"Chris!" Fire Storm yelled. "Are you O.K?"

I didn't answer as I slowly got back to my feet. I took a couple of deep breaths, staring at the Machoke. I was hurting bad, but not nearly as badly as it would in about ten seconds.

I started to charge again, and after a moment, the Machoke was charging at me also. It looked as though I was about to try another Tackle, but I wasn't about to try that again. I had another idea.

The distance between us closed quickly. Thirty feet…twenty feet…fifteen feet…ten feet…

I suddenly stopped, but the Machoke continued to charge. That's when I let the attack go.

"FLLLLAAAARRRREEEE!" 

A FlameThrower erupted from my mouth, engulfing the Machoke as he charged right into the stream of fire. I kept the attack until my fire sac emptied out almost fifteen seconds later.

The Machoke had stopped as the flames reached it, and when all the fire and smoke cleared, it had been reduced to a blackened crisp. He blinked a couple of times, then collapsed on the ground in front of me.

"Well fought, Chris." The Machoke was returned back to Daley. I wanted to stay out there and finish the fight, but Fire Storm yelled at me to come back.

"Chris, you just got tossed into a wall! You can't handle another battle!"

"…I'm coming…" I didn't want to leave, but he was right. I wasn't going to make another round. I walked back to Fire Storm and his Pokémon, who were all very happy to see I was still alive.

"Wow! I've never thought you'd win that!" Feraligater said as I took a seat next to him.

"Yeah! I thought you were gone for sure when you got thrown into that wall!" Furret said as she rushed over to me.

"You did a great job, Chris!" Dragoniar added.

"Yes, you did good Chris, but were not done yet!" Fire Storm reminded us. The cage and crusher were just a little less than halfway to their ends now. 

"This shall be the final round." Daley informed us. Another PokéBall was tossed out, this time releasing an Espeon.

"Alright, Furret! Go get it!"

"Sure thing!" Furret ran out to her side of the arena to face Espeon.

"A Furret? You waste your time on such a simple rodent?!" Daley said with a laugh. "What good does it possibly do you?!"

"Simple…rodent?!" Furret seemed confused. "Simple…rodent?!"

"Oh no…RUN!" Dragoniar and Feraligater quickly ran outside the building, seemly scared out of their minds.

"Daley, you fool! You have no idea what you've done!" Fire Storm yelled.

"What? What can a rat like that do to possible harm my Espeon?"

"Rat? Rat? RAT?!" Furret had advanced from confusion to pure anger. "I'LL SHOW YOU RAT!"

"Chris, get behind me, now!" Fire Stormed barked.

"But…wha…why?"

"Don't ask, just do it!"

I quickly did as told, peering around Fire Storm's legs as the amazing event in front of me began.

Furret began to hold her head and shake it from side to side, seemingly to be having a nervous breakdown. Soon she was yelling, "FUR! FUR! FUR!" and literally began to foam at the mouth. Whatever was going on, it was about to get real ugly.

"FURRET!" Furret yelled one last time before charging at Espeon. The psychic Pokémon appeared to be so shocked by the charging, seemingly insane Pokémon that she was unable to move. Furret leapt at Espeon and began to claw and bite her as they rolled around.

"What the?! Espeon, use Psy Wave to knock it away!" Daley ordered, shocked.

"Yes, *OW!* Master!" Furret was suddenly knocked back about fifteen feet as the Espeon got to her feet.

"Espeon, use Psychic! Attack its mind directly!" Daley shouted.

"Yes, Master!" Espeon began to glow as Furret charged again. Now Furret was going to suffer for sure. A Psychic attack directed right at her mind? Furret be lucky if her skull didn't split…

"AHHHHHH!!!!!"

"What on Earth is going on?!" I asked no one in particular. Espeon was now sprawled out on the ground, screaming in pain and clutching her head as Furret leapt and started to claw it again.

"Espeon! I said use Psychic!" Daley repeated.

"Good luck!" Fire Storm yelled. "No one likes Furrets, and when Furret get insulted like that, she literally goes insane! Until she takes her medicine or gets knocked out, she gonna tear everyone to shreds!" 

"THE PAIN! OH DEAR MEW, THE PAIN! IT'S UNBEARABLE!" Espeon screamed as she curled into a ball while Furret continued to claw her.

"But…why won't Espeon's psychic attacks work?!"

"Furret's so delusional, any attack directed right at her mind will only hurt the attacker! Why do you think they just passed that law forbidding psychic Pokémon and Hybrids from using their powers in facilities for the mentally insane?!" Fire Storm informed Daley. "You'd better call back your Espeon! If it stays exposed like that, it'll go permanently insane!"

"But…but…Espeon, return!" Daley quickly recalled his Pokémon, who was now covered head to tail in scratches and bites. Furret looked around quickly, still foaming at the mouth.

"I'm sorry about this Furret, but it's for your own good!" Fire Storm reached into one of the inner pockets of his jacket and pulled out a blue capsule, throwing it in Furret's direction. It exploded in a cloud of Sleep Powder around Furret. Furret took a few whiffs of the air, then quickly collapsed onto the ground in a deep slumber.

"Return, Furret!" Fire Storm recalled Furret as Feraligater and Dragoniar slowly came back in.

"How many survivors?" Feraligater asked as he looked for Furret.

"Everyone's alive, though Espeon did get pretty hurt. It tried to use Psychic directly on Furret's mind."

"Oh Mew…what was it thinking?!" Dragoniar muttered in disbelief, shaking her head.

"Well…it seems you've won…"

"Yes! Now release Phoenix and the eggs!" Both still had about thirty percent of the time they'd started with left.

"Yes…I shall stop them…" There was a click, then both the cage and crusher stopped moving.

Everyone on our side of the arena let out a loud sigh of relief. We did it! We saved Phoenix and the eggs! Things were going our way once agai…

"CLICK!"

The cage and crusher began to move again, much faster than before. 

"Daley, you scum! Stop it now!" Fire Storm ordered.

"I will…if you can get through my Alakazam's Barrier here…"

"Ala." It must've been hiding in the darkness, because I still couldn't see it.

I couldn't believe it! This bastard was going to go back on his word and kill three innocent people! In less than ten seconds, Phoenix would be doused with a Sedrea's water and my eggs would be turned into scrambled eggs! I had to stop it… but… what… had to… stop them… somehow…

The next few hours are a total blank in my memory. I'm only telling what I did based on Fire Storm's and his Pokémon's explanations of what happened next.

"FLLLAAARRREEE!" I yelled. I stared at the cage and crusher as they quickly descended down. I became surrounded by a blue glow, much like the one's psychic types give off when they use psychic attacks. Also, you remember those weird flecks in my eyes, the ones that are grey, yellow, blue and green? Well, according to Fire Storm, the grey flecks were glowing with a bright light, but just the grey ones for some reason.

Soon, both the cage and crusher began to glow as well, coming to a dead halt just above the water and eggs, respectively. Everyone watched in shock as the incubator began to move out of the crushers path, floating into Fire Storm's arms. The bars of Phoenix's cage began to bend, and Phoenix floated out of the gap created by the bent bars. She floated over to us, then was gently laid out on the ground next to me.

As soon as she was on the ground, everything stopped glowing. The empty cage was dropped into the water; the crusher crushed air, and I passed out.

"Hmm, so that's it…" Daley said in a calm voice. "Alakazam, let us leave this place."

"Zam." There was a small flash of light over by Daley, and then silence.

"…Uh…what just happened?" Feraligater asked, confused.

"…I'm not sure…" Dragoniar said, equally confused.

"Neither am I…let's just get out of here." Fire Storm quickly got me, Phoenix and the eggs back into the car and quickly drove us all home.

Now, you'd think after all that, we'd have enough surprises for one day. As it was, though, there was still one thing left to deal with.

"Who the…" As Fire Storm pulled the car into the driveway of his home, he saw the Typhlosin Hybrid from Apple Bees sitting on the steps in front of his home. He quickly got out of the car and demanded to know who this person was. It turned out to be one of FireHybrid's online buddies, Yoshiman. He'd come down to see FireHybrid and look for some help on what had been happening, since he too remembers the Shadow World. He was going to get a hotel room like us, but he apparently got robbed at Water Gunpoint by a Wartortle Hybrid, and had to give up all his money. Once again, Fire Storm offered to let him stay in the house for a few days.

Well, Fire Storm let him in, and they bought all of us inside. They placed Phoenix on her bed, me with Andrea and plugged the incubator into the outlet in the dining room. After driving over to the Center and having Joy drive him home again, Fire Storm went to bed and let Yoshiman, who's known as Rick Griffin, have the couch for the night. I had Andrea shaking me awake at about 10 a.m. the next morning.

"Chris! Chris! The eggs are back!" she said ecstatically.

"Huh…oh, they are? Great…" I was still half-asleep at the time, but her next words snapped me wide awake.

"They're hatching!"

"What?! I'm coming!" I quickly leapt down off the bed, rushing into the dining room with what little strength I had.

I came in just in time to see a small brown paw break through the shell of an egg as the other continued to shake. Another hole appeared in the egg, and then another. Soon, a small brown fur covered head poked its way through the opening in the top of eggshell.

"Eui?" it said in minor confusion, looking around. It saw me and Andrea, and looked at us for a few seconds, like it wasn't sure what to make of this. Then it smiled at us and held out its arms. "Eui!"

"Oh, you're so cute!" Andrea took our child and wrapped it up in a nearby blanket as the other egg began to open as well. 

"Isn't he beautiful?" Andrea asked, holding him so I could see. He certainly was; his brown furred face was smooth and full of color, his eyes big and full of life. The other egg was soon open, so Andrea gave me our son she was holding and went to wrap up our other child.

Soon, everyone had joined us in the joyous moment. Xavier, his mother and his Pokémon looked worn out, but they were all very happy for us. We took care of the children and otherwise rested around the house for a while. Later on, I was finally able to talk to the others while Andrea was feeding the kids and Xavier's mother was busy in town buying food and clothes for the kids.

"You guys went out without me?! I missed all the fun!" Amber complained in her human form, leaning back in the couch.

"Sorry Amber, but we felt it'd be better if there were less of us to go out there and risk getting in trouble." Xavier said from his spot on the wooden rocking chair.

"Yes…though you missed quite an adventure. I still can't figure out how he knew so much about us…it was really creepy." I said, sitting in between Amber and Rick on the couch. Rick was still in his Hybrid form, trying to keep the fire on his neck and his fire tail, which I hadn't seen at the restaurant, from setting it on fire.

"You want creepy? How the hell did you use all that psychic power?! You're a Flareon Hybrid, not an Espeon Hybrid!"

"I'm not sure…" How the heck _did_ I do that? There was no logical explanation for how that happened. I mean, I always thought there was something special about us; after all, we were a few of the small number of people who can remember the Shadow World, but I never expected something like this to happen!

"Hey, how come I miss out on all the good stuff? All I did was almost get in trouble at that Apple Bee's in the plaza. When am I gonna have something exciting happen to me?" Rick moaned.

"I'm sure something's gonna happen to you soon, Rick. Besides, how much excitement can you expect in a month?" Xavier asked.

"Sure seems like you've had your fair share…"

"He's got you there." An idea just struck me. "What about Serena? What's she been up to lately?"

"Oh, wait!" Rick reached into his pocket and pulled out a Fire Stone and a piece of paper, giving them to Xavier. "I found these outside while I was waiting for you."

Xavier looked over the stone, seeming to remember it from somewhere. He read over the note and sighed.

"What's up?" Amber asked.

"It's from Serena. Her Dad had been planning to move the family to New Mexico, but she didn't know when. Well, he finally decided to get going yesterday. They're headed there now." Xavier looked at the stone in his hand and sighed. "I remember when she told me how she tripped over this thing…she's a great girl, but a bit of a klutz."

"Oh…can I see that?" I asked. I'd never seen a Fire Stone up close before. Xavier passed the stone over to me. The little flame that seemed to just sit still in it. Hmm…sure looked interesting…

"Hey, I didn't know this thing glows when you hold it…"

"That's because it doesn't!"

"Wait…then why is it glowing now?!"

The stone was beginning to glow brightly in my hands, gathering heat as it did. I was too shocked to do anything but watch as the glow continued for a few seconds, then died back down again.

"Alright…what just happened?" Rick asked, looking over at the stone. 

"I'm not sure…" I said in disbelief. The flame that appeared to be in the stone was now moving all about.

"Let me see." Amber took the stone from me to look at it. She gasped in shock, then looked over at Xavier.

"Xavier…this thing had all the energy sucked out of it, right?"

"Yes…why do you ask?"

"Well, because…it's charged again…"

"What?!"

"See the flame?" Amber showed the stone to us all. "When it does that, that means the stone has energy in it…Chris recharged the stone just by holding it!"

Everyone just looked over at me. Geez, first I suddenly gain psychic powers and lose them a few seconds later, now I'm recharging evolution stones just by holding them! What's next?!

"Well…I've got a box upstairs I could put that in. I might need it later…" Xavier got up and ran upstairs, probably to get that box.

I just sat there, trying to figure out what was happening. In the process of less than three days, I've had more things happen to me than ever before…and who knows if everything is even close to done? There could still be tons of mysteries left to solve!

As I watched the flame in the stone, a thought dawned on me. Fire is both a source of life and destruction. A controlled fire offers warmth to the cold, restoring their life, yet at the same time, if it goes unchecked or is misused, that fire can either die or spread out of control, possibly taking lives as well. What it does all depends on the actions of those who watch over it. We were kind of like that; all of us working on the cause of trying to find answers, just like you work together with others to make a fire grow and keep it from growing out of control.

The only question I had as Xavier came down with the box and Amber place the stone in it was; what would happen with us? Would we protect the fire and help it grow enough to shed light on all these mysteries, or would we fail and let it go out? Or, worse yet, would we let it get out of control, destroying not only the answer to these mysteries, but possibly ourselves, as well?

Whew! Finally, it's done! Man, that was one creepy night…and I still don't know how the hell Daley knew so much about all of us. How long has been watching us? Is he still doing it now? Until I know for sure, I'd better be careful…

Anyway, same as before; if you wanna stop by the house or show me your support or whatever, e-mail me at firehybrid@swirve.com or IM me; my AIM name is HybridAuthor. Also, send your fic and art submissions to Chris at reynard@transfur.com. Until next time, watch your back; you could be next…


	4. Chapter 4

This is set in about early October.  
  
Chp. 4- The Pro's and Con's of Friendships and Love  
  
The dark type. Although seen by many as the reincarnation of evil, they are truly not. They simply tend to take a more aggressive attitude than other types of Pokémon. They are tough, bold, fearless, daring...  
  
"Fire Storm? I'm scared..."  
  
Everything Houndor is not...  
  
"*groan* Houndor? What's wrong now?" I moaned, glancing up at the clock. My peaceful sleep had been interrupted at 2:30 in the morning.  
  
"I hear something in the closet. I think it's after me..." Houndor whimpered, looking over at the closet.  
  
"Houndor, we went over this. There's a wild Ratatta in the walls we're trying to get out. It's not gonna come after you..."  
  
"But I'm scared...can I stay up here with you?"  
  
"If it'll make you feel safe..." I sighed.  
  
"Thank you..." I was laying on my stomach, so Houndor climbed onto my back and made himself comfortable up there. I sighed and tried to go back to sleep without moving too much.  
  
I don't know what it is with Houndor, but he is one of the most cowardly Pokémon I've ever seen. He's even scared of his own shadow! What kind of dark-type Pokémon is scared of its own shadow?!  
  
I still care for Houndor, like my other Pokémon. Still, I can't help but wonder what exactly is the matter with him. It's not that I want him to be all tough and insensitive; I just want him to be able to stand up for himself. I've had him checked for any sort of physical problem that might be causing him to act the way he does, but apparently there's nothing wrong.  
  
Anyway, I slept till about 8:30, since it was a Saturday. With help from Feraligater, I moved Houndor off my back and went downstairs, not bothering to shift forms or even throw on a shirt with my jeans that I'd slept in. Mom was away at a big Scrabble tournament, something she's very into, and wasn't going to be back until Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how well she did.  
  
"Morning, Rick." I yawned, stretching out. Rick was sitting at the dining room table in his Hybrid form, munching away on a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  
  
"Morning, Fire Storm. Sleep well?"  
  
"If you don't count being woken by Houndor at 2:30 in the morning, then yeah, I slept great." I grabbed a bowl and spoon from the kitchen and went into the dining room. "You the only one up?"  
  
"Yeah, besides you..." Rick took a spoonful of cereal before going on. "Oh, your AIM thing was going off before when I was on. I was just shutting it off when it said you got this high-priority e-mail. It was from PokeBobVaporeon."  
  
"Bob? Geez, what's he up to now?" I like Bob, but he can be a bit of a bother sometimes. He sometimes starts asking me questions about my story and stuff...I usually don't mind answering, but when he starts asking for all the details and stuff that I never really worried about, it can be kinda annoying to come up with answers.  
  
After a quick breakfast, I went to my now state-of-the-art computer, and in the time it would've taken my old Gateway to connect to the Internet, I had three different windows running; one for my e-mail, another for Utopia, (It's a game on the same site as my e-mail service. Check it out; it's pretty cool!) and one for Word to work on what's been happening here. I post the more interesting parts of what happens around here while still working on, "A New Beginning". Most people believe what I post in, "Intertwine Dreams" is a mere fic, but I really hope to contact any of those who remember the Shadow World...damn, now Chris has me doing it, too!  
  
Anyway, checking my e-mail, I saw that in fact Bob had sent a message. I quickly opened it and read the following...  
  
"Make sure to watch the morning news (channel 4, don't miss even one showing)."  
  
"See if you can spot any really dumb crooks. Humans only, Hybrids don't count."  
  
"Oh, and get some money ready for bail. I'll pay you back. Thanks in advance."  
  
This can't be good, I thought. You never ask someone to get money ready for bail unless they're ready to do something illegal.  
  
"Uh, Rick? Do me a favor and turn on NBC?"  
  
"Sure, but why?...It's just Access Hollywood."  
  
"I don't know, but be prepared." My sensitive ears could easily pick up the broadcast from the TV below.  
  
"Hello and welcome to our special live showing of Access Hollywood." A newscaster announced.  
  
"Thanks John, for our top story today..." a second voice started to say, but suddenly there were screams and someone was shouting.  
  
"Rick?! What's going on?!" I yelled, starting off down the stairs.  
  
"There's some nut with a gun on the set!"  
  
I got down in time to see a young guy about 19 with blond hair and glasses was on the set, holding out two handguns. He shrugged off an overcoat to reveal a black T-shirt saying "I Shot J.R." in white letters on the back of it.  
  
"Everybody be cool, this is a robbery!" he yelled as the host dove behind a nearby desk. Then, in a different, possessed-sounding voice, "Any of you fucking pricks move, and I'll execute every mother fucking last one of you!"  
  
"Who the hell is that guy?!" Rick yelled in shock.  
  
"I don't...no...he's not that stupid..." It couldn't be...  
  
Suddenly music started to play what I later learned was the Pulp Fiction theme music. At this point the power went out and the T.V. only showed a blank screen.  
  
Rick and I just stood there in shock. I still couldn't believe he could do that. I mean, I never really seen him as the brightest bulb in the box, but he's still a smart kid. He wouldn't do something this stupid...  
  
"Hey, what's all the yelling about?..." Chris walked out of his bedroom, sounding like he was still half asleep.  
  
"There was some nut on Access Hollywood with guns! He was threatening to shoot everyone!" Rick informed Chris.  
  
"Geez...hey, Fire Storm? What's wrong? You got that look on your face like that time I told you I thought I saw Phoenix was sniffing your jacket you left behind a few weeks ago."  
  
"I...I think we know that nut..." I managed to get out.  
  
"What? Are you feeling O.K?"  
  
Before I could respond, the T.V suddenly turned back on. Everyone was still in the studio, and Officer Jenny was handcuffing the guy who'd charged in.  
  
"...take a joke?!" Officer Jenny was now handcuffing the guy from before while the video camera taped it all.  
  
"You have the right to remain silent. Any..." Officer Jenny started to say, but the guy cut her off.  
  
"I choose to wave that right. Oh woe is me! I am woe! What wretched fate hath befallen thine faithful seeker!? Forsuth wherefore didst I set mine own self upon yonder sunset horizon!?" The guy was speaking like he was in a Shakespeare play or something.  
  
"Umm..." Jenny seemed very confused. "Anything you say, can and will be use..." she started to say, but was again cut off.  
  
"If these hints are too cryptic I'll try some easier ones! I want my puppy!!!" the guy yelled. "Why have you for..."  
  
"Alright that's enough! I'm taking you downtown." This time Officer Jenny cuts him off.  
  
"Hey what about my *gack!*..." he started to say, but Jenny suddenly jerked him off the set.  
  
"I'll do it at the station." she said sharply while she dragged him off camera.  
  
"What the hell was that?!" Chris asked no one in particular.  
  
"I dunno...that guy wa..." Rick started to say, but I quickly cut in.  
  
"BOB! YOU FREAKIN' MORON! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! WERE YOU THINKING?!"  
  
Chris and Rick just stared at me. I know that sounded really stupid, but I didn't really think I was being the stupid one at the moment. What the hell was Bob thinking, charging onto the set of a live T.V show with guns! Now he wants me to go down to the city and bail out his sorry butt?!  
  
After I'd calmed down, I'd explained to Chris and Rick exactly what had happened. Chris let out quite a string of curses while Rick just shook his head and muttered, "moron..." On the plus side, it meant we could take a trip into the city, something pretty much everyone wanted to do.  
  
As we waited for everyone else to get up, it occurred to me that I had to work today at the Center. No problem, I thought. I've got tons of sick days saved up. I'll just use one of them. Hell; Joy won't even care if I'm going into the city. The place has been dead lately, anyway. Guess I'd better make the cal...  
  
"Hey, Fire Storm. Someone's at the door." Chris informed me as I picked up the phone in the kitchen.  
  
"Yeah, I hear them." I could hear the knocking coming from the front door. Little early for someone to be knocking on my door, I thought as I went over to the door. I opened the door, thinking it was probably the paper boy or something.  
  
"Hello, can I help...Serena?!"  
  
Serena Vulpos, a.k.a. The_Seraph, was standing in front of me, looking down at the ground. The Ninetales Hybrid tails swished about slowly, and she was fidgeting about, like I've often seen her do when she's nervous. Her hands were lying gently on her stomach, and her clothes were torn up.  
  
"Hello..." she said quietly, still fidgeting a bit.  
  
"Hi...come on in..."  
  
Serena nodded and stepped in slowly, still holding her stomach. Chris and Rick seemed as surprised as I was that Serena was here. She should've been in New Mexico by now...  
  
"Uh...can I ask what you're doing here? You should be halfway across the country." I asked her.  
  
"I'm not going..." she quietly replied.  
  
"Well, yes, we can see you're not there now." Chris noted. "What do your parents think of this?"  
  
"Umm...I never told them..." She looked close to tears.  
  
"Hey, it's alright...you can stay here for a while..." I assured her. Lord only knows everyone else is. "I dunno suppose you wanna tell us why you ran away?"  
  
She shook her head. That was fine, but I still thought it was kinda odd she come all the way from New Mexico to here. As we spoke, Amber came out of her room.  
  
"Morning everyon...oh, hello Serena." Serena had come over once or twice before she was supposed to go, and Amber had met her a few times. "Are you O.K?"  
  
"I've been better..." she admitted.  
  
"O.K...I think we still have that futon upstairs open...did you bring anything with you?" I asked. She shook her head, looking down at her slightly torn clothes. "Oh...well, you can borrow some of Mom's clothes. I'm sure she won't mind."  
  
Serena nodded again. She seemed awfully quiet...  
  
"Do you want anything to eat or drink?" Rick offered.  
  
"Sure..."  
  
"Serena...are you O.K? You seem awfully quiet." I said.  
  
Without warning, Serena suddenly collapsed to her knees and began to cry. I quickly knelt down with her, having no clue what was going on.  
  
"Hey! What's wrong?"  
  
"I...I..." That's when I noticed her shirt. She'd moved her hands to dry her eyes as she cried, and I could now see the lower front of her shirt was covered in blood.  
  
"What happened to you? Are you hurt?" She nodded. "Oh...come on, let's get you to Amber's room here and get you bandaged up. It's right down the hall here..."  
  
I helped Serena to her feet and gently walked her down the hall to Amber's room. What the hell happened to her? What was she doing to get herself hurt like this?  
  
"Are you hurt bad?" I asked. She shook her head. "O.K., come on...What happened? Did something attack you?"  
  
Serena kept her head down as she sat on the bed. This was not like Serena at all...  
  
"If you were hurt by a Pokémon, you might have been poisoned or acquired some sort of virus. I really need to know what happened if we're gonna help you."  
  
"Curtis..."  
  
"Curtis? Who's Curtis?"  
  
Serena started to sob again at this. I decided I'd better not press the subject too much.  
  
"Shh...it's alright." I sat with Serena on Amber's bed, hoping to God I didn't say something that would make the situation even worse, like I usually do. "Where are you hurt?"  
  
Serena got control of herself and pulled up her shirt a little, showing a large clean cut across her stomach. It looked much like the Phoenix received my first night here.  
  
"Ow...what were you hurt with? A knife?"  
  
"A claw..."  
  
"A claw? What kind of claw?"  
  
"I-I don't know..."  
  
"Shh, it's O.K...are you hurt anywhere else?"  
  
"No..."  
  
"Good..." Amber bought over the first-aid box to me. "Can you do this on your own, or do you want some help?"  
  
"Help..."  
  
"O.K...you want one of the other girls to help...or Chris, he's a doctor..."  
  
"You."  
  
"Me?!...Sure, if it makes you feel better..."  
  
Amber seemed to take this as her cue to exit and left the room, staying outside with everyone else. I pulled out one of the Super Potions from the kit, checking to make sure it was still full.  
  
"This might sting a little, O.K?" Serena nodded in response. I sprayed the potion gently, hoping to lessen the stinging sensation. She flinched a little, but otherwise looked fine.  
  
"O.K., that should be fine in a couple of hours…do you want help bandaging it?"  
  
She nodded, so I put the potion away and pulled out the roll of bandages. I wrapped it around Serena a few times, tying not to brush against her tails too much. She murred a little(a murr is like a canine version of a purr) when I did brush against them and started to smile a little, but I didn't think too much of it. After I went around her about six or seven times, I ripped the bandage and used a little medical tape to keep the bandages in place.  
  
"Thank you, Fire Storm..."  
  
"You're welcome." I assured her. "Here, why don't you rest for a while? We'll get you some food and clothes in the meantime, and you can get a shower when you're rested up..."  
  
"No," she said, shaking her head. "Stay with me, please?"  
  
"Sure." I quickly opened the door to the room and looked outside. Rick, Amber and Chris were all waiting patiently outside, probably thinking Serena and I wanted to be alone.  
  
"Hey guys, can you get Serena some food and something to drink here? I think Bob can hang out in a cell for a little while."  
  
"Sure. If he's dumb enough to get arrested in the first place, he probably deserves to sit in a cell for a while." Rick noted before heading off to the kitchen.  
  
"I still can't believe he was dumb enough to do that..." Chris muttered as he followed Rick.  
  
"Is this guy alright, mentally?" Amber asked. "I don't think any sane person would actually do that."  
  
"To be honest, I'm not sure." I admitted.  
  
"Alright...I'd better help them..." With a sigh, Amber went into the kitchen to help with the food. I was just about to close the door when Eevee came bounding down the stairs, looking very upset.  
  
"Fire Storm!" he said, running over to me. "We need to talk, now!"  
  
"Eevee, can this wait? This is a bad ti..."  
  
"No, this can't wait! Your friend Chris had been using my litter box, and it's very disturbing to go to the bathroom where someone else has!"  
  
"Eevee, Chris has to use your litter box; he feel through the toilet the last time he tried to use it. Remember he went around her naked until Mom threatened to kick everyone out of the house? We need to get the proper fixtures for him…"  
  
"Well, why can't we get them then?! If it keeps other people from going through my private space..."  
  
"Eevee, that stuff costs a lot of money, and unless you guys like the idea of going hungry for a few weeks, I can't pay for it, and Mom's got enough trouble with the stock market going all haywire. Her day trading job isn't paying well enough, especially with everyone else living here. She's talking about charging rent from them..."  
  
"Well, then could you at least talk to him about it?!"  
  
"O.K., I'll try again. Hey, why don't you go in the kitchen and ask Rick or Amber to give you a snack? I really need to talk with Serena here."  
  
"Serena's here?!" Eevee peered into the room to check what I said.  
  
"Eevee, please! This is very serious!"  
  
"Oh, alright..." he mumbled, going off into the kitchen. I closed the door again as I went back into Amber's room.  
  
"Sorry about that." I apologized to Serena. "Things have been a little crazy..."  
  
"Dan...I'm sorry..."  
  
"Shh, it's Xavier now." I had to wince at the mention of my old name, but I tried not to show it. "It's alright. You didn't mean for any of this to happen..."  
  
"O.K..."  
  
"How long have you been trying to get here, anyway?" I asked.  
  
"About two days..." Serena reached to her belt and pulled off a Poké Ball. "I got this though..."  
  
"You fought it?"  
  
"Yes...normally I wouldn't, but I heard it challenge me, and it said it'd go with me if I caught it...it moved so fast, I never even saw what it was. My Pokémon slowed it down, and I heard it breathing in the weeds, so I threw the ball and caught it...but Curtis wanted it and he..."  
  
"Shh, it's alright." She sounded like she was going to start getting upset again. Serena looked over at me, her eyes filled with tears.  
  
"You were always far too sweet..."  
  
"Oh..." I could feel myself blushing under my fur. "Thanks..."  
  
"You know, you've been one of my only true friends..."  
  
"Oh, come on. You have lots of friends besides me."  
  
She shook her head. "People like me, people hang out with me, but not people I trust like you."  
  
"Serena...I..." Ah man, I dunno how to handle this! When it comes to handling emotional people, I always crack like an egg dropped off a 10- story building!  
  
Serena leaned against my shoulder and sighed. Phoenix had done this with me sometimes, but this time, it was so much more...welcome. I wasn't feeling my flesh crawl under my fur like I usually do.  
  
"Serena..."  
  
"D-Xavier?" Damn it, someone tell me what the hell I should do!!  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I..." She looked down before going on. "When I..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"When I first saw you in the Center I...umm..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I realized I liked you...a lot..."  
  
"Serena..."  
  
"I mean it...I..."  
  
"Shh, it's alright. Just take it easy..."  
  
Serena sighed again as she went on. "That's why I came here. I wanted to tell you..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I like you Xavier Canin." She looked up at me before going on. "I like you a lot."  
  
"Serena...I...I..." Dear God, let something... anything happen! Give me an answer! Have a fire start somewhere! Have Furret go into another of her psychotic fits! Please, something happen!  
  
"Xavier..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
Serena wrapped her arms around my chest and hugged me to her as I felt her cold, wet nose nuzzling my neck.  
  
"Serena..." I was used to being nuzzled; Phoenix did it once in a great while, but this was so much better. This time, the nuzzles were coming from someone I knew for a while and cared for. Someone I really cared for...  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"It's...it's...it's nice to have you back." I gently placed my hands on her sides, holding her as she continued to nuzzle my neck. I could feel my tail wagging steadily behind me, but I didn't care.  
  
"Thank you." she murred, hugging me a little tighter. Soon I felt her warm tongue working around my neck, the heat contrasting with her cold nose. It felt odd, but yet so nice at the same time.  
  
"Serena..."  
  
"Yes?" I guess she realized what she was doing, because she stopped to look at me.  
  
"You...you really need to rest and let that wound heal up."  
  
"C-can you stay then?"  
  
"Sure, I'll get in the chair over here..."  
  
Serena smiled as we slowly let go of each other. She laid herself out on the bed while I pulled the chair over from the corner of the room.  
  
"Xavier?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you miss the old life?"  
  
"I do...and I don't." I admitted. "Sure, there's stuff I miss from the old world, but there's also a lot I don't miss." Serena nodded in response.  
  
"I'm the town's gym leader. Did you know that?" she said with a little giggle.  
  
"No...but it does explain why you didn't want to leave."  
  
Serena shook her head. "That's not why I wanted to stay."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I didn't want to leave because...of you. You were filling my head; I didn't want to leave."  
  
"Serena... I never knew." Serena looked down as I continued. "How long have you felt this way for me?"  
  
"A while now. I...I just didn't know how to say it. I felt so shy about it. Me, shy...there's something new."  
  
"Serena..." I didn't know what to say. Here I was, me, the guy who had the worst trouble talking to women, suddenly had one of my best friends now talking about her feelings for me. The thing is...I'd kinda been feeling the same way about her...but am I ready? Can I risk moving Serena up from, "Friend who's a girl," to, "Girlfriend," without screwing up our friendship terribly?  
  
"Why don't you let that Pokémon out?" I suggested, hoping to maybe get a little time to think about my feelings for Serena. "It probably doesn't want to stay cooped up in there."  
  
"Oh...O.K..." She sounded hurt; maybe I shouldn't have tried to change the subject like that...  
  
Serena reached to her belt and pulled off a Poké Ball. She looked at it for a moment before pressing the button and releasing it.  
  
As the Pokémon formed, I expected it to be something simple, like a Sentret or Ratatta. As soon as I saw what Serena had caught, though, I realized something; this was no normal Pokémon!  
  
"Oh, you're so cute!" Serena said, moving down to hug her new Pokémon. All I could do was stand there and gawk. How the hell did she catch...him?!  
  
"Fire Storm...what's wrong?" I guess Serena noticed the way I was looking at her new Pokémon friend.  
  
"Serena…do you know who that is?!" I asked, trying not to shout. She'd either never studied this Pokémon before or she was just being totally brain-dead. I hoped it was the first one.  
  
"Huh? Oh!" Serena pulled away from her new friend to look at him. "Sorry, I never got your name."  
  
"My name is Raioku." the legendary electric dog responded rather calmly.  
  
"Hi, Raioku!" Serena went back to hugging her friend, obviously not knowing who Raioku was.  
  
"Serena, that Pokémon…it's legendary!" I barely kept my voice at a normal speaking level.  
  
"What?!" Serena pulled away again to look at Raioku. "O.K., I never saw it in the game…"  
  
"Remember when you went into the Tin Tower…the burnt down one? When you fell through the floor and saw those three Pokémon, and then they ran off…that's one of them. He's legendary!" I repeated.  
  
"What?!" Serena looked at Raioku for a few moments before hugging him again. "COOL!"  
  
Serena may not have been bothered by the fact that she was hugging a legendary Pokémon, but I was a little bothered. Why would a legendary Pokémon like Raioku allow himself to be captured like that? It could've easily outrun any of Serena's Pokémon friends.  
  
"Um…excuse me, Raioku? If I may ask…why did you challenge Serena like that?"  
  
"It's alright." Raioku assured me. "I saw her as a very worthy trainer, and I challenged her to prove my theory. I was right; she and her Pokémon are very skilled. I lost, and I made an agreement with myself to protect her at all times and train with her to improve my skills."  
  
Besides, she's kinda cute, isn't she?  
  
"What?!" Where'd that come from?! I heard it…but not with my ears. It was more like a thought that just suddenly popped into my head. But…how?  
  
"Huh?" Serena pulled away from Raioku to look up at me. "Fire Storm? What is it?"  
  
"Didn't you just hear that?!"  
  
"Hear what?"  
  
"Um…nothing…" Maybe I just imagined it…  
  
Trust me, you didn't imagine it.  
  
There it was again! Where was it coming from? I looked all around the room and out the window, wondering if someone was using a psychic Pokemon to mess with my head. No, I didn't see anyo…wait, why is Raioku smiling like that?…  
  
"Fire Storm? Are you O.K?"  
  
"Yeah, fine…" Raioku! That's where it was coming from! That little…  
  
Good guess, Growlithe boy. Now, on to other matters… He looked up at Serena, who was still looking at me oddly. Well, what're you waiting for?  
  
What was I waiting for? What was he talking about? Serena looked at both of us, maybe catching on to what was happening.  
  
Come on, kiss her already!  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Fire Storm! What's wrong?!" Serena asked, looking very concerned. What the hell was Raioku thinking?! If he weren't supposed to be a minor god and Serena's new friend, I'd strangle him!  
  
Come on, you know you like her. She was talking to herself before about how much she liked you, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way. What are you waiting for?  
  
"I…I…" My head was starting to spin. I cared for Serena a lot, but…I just didn't think I could summon up the courage to just outright kiss her. Still, I liked her a lot…  
  
Come on, you know you want to…  
  
I could feel the lump in my throat as I struggled to keep myself from following Raioku wanted. Why did I want to avoid this so bad? Serena was willing to come out for her feelings about me; why couldn't I do the same?  
  
"Serena…could you stand up for a minute?" I asked slowly. I was already too far in; I couldn't back out now…  
  
"Sure…" Serena slowly stood up, her tails twitching ever so lightly. God, here it goes…  
  
Grabbing her by her shoulders, I pulled her to me, turned my head to the side and locked my muzzle onto hers. Serena seemed shocked at first, but quickly relaxed while I moved my arms around her and hugged her to me. She started to hug me herself as I moved my hands down to gently stroke her tails. Serena moaned lightly in response as she hugged me slightly tighter.  
  
Looking back, I can't help but think about how odd the circumstances were for my first kiss. Both me and my girlfriend were covered in fur, locking muzzles with one another, our ten combined tails wagging wildly…somehow this was a little different from what I thought my first kiss would be like.  
  
After what seemed like forever, I finally pulled away from Serena, my arms wrapped around her waist as I stared into her eyes. She was so beautiful, so nice to be around…sure, she's a little ditzy sometimes, but she's still very smart. She obviously liked me too, even though I'm not really sure what she sees in me. I sure as hell wasn't going to just drop her and hope beyond hope that'd I find another female like her somewhere else. As they say; beggars can't be choosers.  
  
"Serena…" I didn't know what to say, but I was pretty sure my actions had said what words couldn't.  
  
"Fire Storm…" She had a look in her eyes…I couldn't tell at first what it was, but then I realized; it was love. She loved me. She loved me…  
  
"Serena…should we tell the others? I'm sure they'll want to know."  
  
"It's up to you; you've been spending a lot more time with them than me."  
  
"Alright, we probably should tell them. We'll do it together…but what about your parents? Do you think they'll understand?"  
  
Serena shook her head. "Probably not. They'll be mad enough that I ran away; if they know I did it just for you, they won't be happy at all."  
  
"Oh…well, we'll worry about that when the time comes. In the meantime…" I looked down at Serena's bloody shirt, "You still need to rest. You've got a big wound that needs time to heal."  
  
"O.K…" After we held each other for another minute or two, we slowly let go of each other, Serena moving down to the bed and crawling under the covers. I smiled as I thought about what had just happened…I had a real girlfriend. Me, the guy that'd thought he'd never have anyone really care for him, had a girlfriend…  
  
"Thank you Serena; thank you so much…" I knelt down to her and nuzzled her muzzle gently. She smiled gently and quickly fell asleep, her smile still noticeable on her muzzle. Raioku curled up beside the bed with her, quickly falling asleep. I slowly went outside to let her rest.  
  
After I closed the door to her room, I had to control the urge to let out a huge howl of joy. Someone loved me, and I loved her back! She'd come all the way from New Mexico just to come back to me! If that's not love, then I don't know what is!  
  
"Fire Storm?" Amber peered around the corner of the kitchen. "Is everything O.K over there?"  
  
"Wha…? Oh yeah, great…" I was still lost in my thoughts; not exactly the condition to be in for an intelligent conversation. "Serena's asleep."  
  
"Good; she needs the rest. We going to wait a while before picking up the jail bird?"  
  
"Yeah, sure…" I slowly went upstairs to my room, ignoring the confused look on Amber's face. Going to my room, I found Eevee chewing away on a piece of meat. It smelled fresh and there was blood all over Eevee's face and the floor around him.  
  
"Eevee…where'd you get that?"  
  
"Chris gave it to me."  
  
"Oh…what poor wild Pokémon did he get this time?"  
  
"Hmm…" Eevee stopped chewing to think for a second. "Tastes a lot like that Pikachu he got last week."  
  
"Ah…" I haven't exactly forced my Pokémon to practice their hunting skills, but I have set them up with Chris to get a few pointers. I don't like to hunt and kill myself. I'll go out into the woods once or twice a week and practice tracking and hunting, but I don't kill. I'll go to my Growlithe form and tackle Pokemon; at most bite them once, but nothing that'll kill them. I actually have games going with a few of the wild predator Pokemon, seeing who can get the most prey Pokemon in a row without losing one, or even hunting each other; non-lethal of course. I'm doing bad right now, but they're experienced hunters, whereas I'm just a tame Growlithe Hybrid.  
  
I'd just laid out on my bed when Chris came in. He smiled at Eevee chewing away on his meal, then hopped up onto the bed.  
  
"Hey ther…whoa!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Man…" Chris whistled as he looked me over, "I haven't seen this in a while."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Fire Storm, you have one bad case of…puppy love…" he said with a smirk.  
  
"Hey!" I almost smacked him for two reasons; listening in on me and Serena and the bad pun. "You were listening?!"  
  
"You think one closed door is gonna keep these ears from hearing something?" Chris wiggled his ears slightly. "Besides, can you blame me for being curious?"  
  
"I guess not…but that still doesn't mean I like you listening in on my private conversations.  
  
"Hey, can you blame me for being curious?" he repeated. "You two were alone, Serena asked specifically for your help…I couldn't help myself!"  
  
"Alright…but if you spy on me like that again, especially when I'm with Serena, you're dead."  
  
"Got it."  
  
"Why? What happened Chris?" Eevee asked, looking up from his bloody meal.  
  
"Nothing kiddo. Finish that up and I'll see about getting that Ratatta that's driving everyone nuts. Maybe we'll roast it…or barbecue! That's be great!"  
  
I looked at Chris oddly. The hard part with him is figuring out when he's being serious and when he's yanking your chain. Just as I contemplated this, the female Espeon that used to belong to Daley hopped onto the bed, rubbing up against Chris. Since we'd rescued her about a month ago, she's been very friendly toward Chris. If you want to know exactly HOW friendly, you'll have to look at Chris' story.  
  
"Hey Solara." I said as she rubbed her head against Chris. "How are you?"  
  
"Good…" she sighed happily as Chris rubbed against her.  
  
"Solara!" Eevee leapt right in between Chris and Solara, ending their romantic moment as they dove to opposite sides. "Are you gonna help me and Fire Storm train tomorrow? Are ya?! Are ya?! Are ya?!"  
  
"Eevee!" Eevee gets really hyper when he thinks about evolving. He wants to be an Espeon like Solara, and I've asked for her help in teaching Eevee what it's like to be a psychic and giving him a few pointers. The only thing that's hard is getting up early in the morning and taking him out back to train. Usually I sleep in till about 6:15 on school days and about 10:00 on the weekend; now sometimes I have to get up by 7:00 on the weekend so Eevee can get the benefits of training in the sun.  
  
"Of course, Eevee. I'll be there." Solara said with a smile.  
  
"Yay!" Eevee bounded off out of the room to somewhere. Sure, Eevee's young, but he acts like such a little kid at times…  
  
"Well, we'll leave you alone. I'm sure you could use the time to yourself." Chris said as he and Solara hopped off the bed and headed toward the door.  
  
"Thanks. You two behave yourselves!" I called after them as they left. Yeah, I could use some time to mysel…  
  
"FIRE STORM!"  
  
"What?!" Nidorino burst through the bathroom and onto the bed, followed a second or two later by a blast of water. He leapt out of the way of it, which meant it hit me full blast.  
  
"GOD DAMNIT!!!" I cried out, feeling the huge pain shooting through my body. It kept up for three or four seconds, then suddenly stopped. Trying hard not to move too much and aggravate my already aching body, I looked into the bathroom and saw Feraligater, looking very angry for a second, but when he saw what he did that face of anger quickly turned to one of fear.  
  
"Feraligater…" I said through clenched teeth, "You have exactly 10 seconds to bring me a towel and an explanation, starting NOW!"  
  
"Fire Storm! I am SO sorry!" Feraligater quickly rushed over to the bathroom closet and pulled out a towel from the rack before bringing it to me, trying to dry me off himself. "Does it hurt bad?"  
  
"Yes it does!" I moaned. "Get your first aid kit!"  
  
Feraligater continued to towel me off as Nidorino pulled over the first aid kit with his teeth. I slowly and shakily reached down and opened it, pulling out another Super Potion. It was from the first aid kit for the Pokemon, but I wasn't going to wait for someone else to bring up the regular kit. I sprayed the potion all over my body, feeling my body slowly becoming numb to the pain from the water. Regular water doesn't hurt, but water from water-types hurts like hell!  
  
"Alright!" I said as I took the towel from Feraligater and dried myself in a few places, moving off my now soaking wet bed, "What was that all about?!"  
  
For the next five minutes, I listened to the blame being passed back and forth between the two of them. I didn't catch it all, but it had something to do with Nidorino eating all of Feraligater's snacks and Feraligater getting upset about it and chasing after Nidorino… I just couldn't keep up with who was at fault.  
  
"Alright already!" I pointed toward the bathroom. "Nidorino, you're in trouble! It's not Feraligater's fault that you ate all your snacks already and he didn't! I'll punish you later. Feraligater, never, EVER use an attack in this house again unless it's in self-defense or you ask me to first. I'll over look it this time, but next time and you'll be REAL sorry! Now, both of you get in there while I change my clothes!"  
  
They both quietly obeyed. They maybe my friends, but I'm still have to be an authority figure over them or else all hell would break loose around here. Sighing, I dropped to my hands and feet and shook off whatever was left of the water like a normal Growlithe or pretty much any non-human creature does. I then quickly changed all of my clothes and put on sweatpants and a T-shirt this time.  
  
"Alright, you two can go…but don't cause anymore trouble!" I yelled through the closed door. They scampered off through the other door while I looked at my now soaking wet bed. It'd dry out on it's own in a few hours, but I was becoming tired between the attack and lack of sleep.  
  
I crossed the hall over to Mom's room; she wasn't home, and her bed is very comfortable. I slid down onto it and curled up, not bothering with blankets; my fur and high body temperature from being a fire-type kept me more than warm enough. I was fast asleep within seconds.  
  
  
  
I slowly awoke, my eyes being forced to adjust to the sudden darkness. What time was it? How long was I asleep? Why didn't somebod…  
  
"Hello, love. Sleep well?"  
  
"Wha?…Serena?!" I was under the covers of the bed with Serena lying next to me, smiling up at me as I blinked sleepy.  
  
"Of course it's me!" she said with a little giggle. "Who else would it be?"  
  
"I…" A sudden wave of warmth washed over me as I saw my now serious girlfriend smiling at me, causing me to smile myself. "Yes; that was kind of silly, wasn't it?"  
  
Serena nodded before placing a hand on the back of my head, stroking me gently. I reached over and gently did the same with her, feeling her inch ever so close to me. We stroked each other for what seemed like forever, until we were muzzle to muzzle. I slowly leaned forward for a kiss; a kiss from my lov…  
  
*FLASH!*  
  
I was moving slowly in a dark forest, in Hybrid form and usual bounty hunting attire. I had my adhesive gun out, moving behind the trees towards the clearing. I could hear and smell my target right in the middle of the clearing…but there was someone else. Someone familiar…  
  
"Alright, bitch! I've got a hostage, and I've got nothing against making some new holes for her!"  
  
Damn, why do the cowards always have to get some innocent mixed up in their trouble?… Sighing, I came out slowly, gun drawn out. Standard hostage proced …no …GOD, NO!  
  
"Fire Storm!" Serena yelled. The balding human behind her had an arm around her neck and appeared to be jabbing something into her back. I had to resist the urge to show any extreme emotion; if I showed any sign of pleading or recognition, she was as good as dead.  
  
"Alright buddy…" I said slowly, keeping my gun pointed at him and Serena. It took a lot of self-control to keep my voice steady. "You're in enough trouble as it is. Let's not add murder to that."  
  
"Put the gun down!" he ordered. "Put it down and I'll let her go!"  
  
"Alright, alright…" I slowly lean down and dropped my gun; normally I wouldn't leave myself so vulnerable, but he had my lover; I wasn't going to risk her life now. Besides, as soon as he let her go and I got her clear, it'd be a simple matter to stop…  
  
BAM!  
  
I braced for impact…but nothing. A gun went off, but it wasn't at me. Who was shot?  
  
"Uhh…"  
  
"SERENA!" He shot her! The bastard shot her in the back! He shoved her to the ground as she clutched at her chest before running off into the woods.  
  
"Serena!" I rushed over to her, blood leaking out of her back and all over her clothes. He shot her in the heart! She was losing blood fast; too fast! Without thinking, I scooped her into my arms and bolted toward the road; she needed to get to a hospital!  
  
"Fire Storm…"  
  
"Shh…save your strength. Everything will be O.K…" I hushed her, forcing myself to top speed. This couldn't be happening! I couldn't lose her like this!  
  
"No…Fire Storm, I…I can't…"  
  
"No! Serena, you have to! Please, hang in there! Please…for me…"  
  
"I…I-I feel tired…so weak…"  
  
"Serena! Please, stay awake! Don't leave me!"  
  
"Fire Storm…I…I love you…I don't wanna leave you…"  
  
"Serena…I love you too…please don't go…" My eyes flooded with tears as Serena's blood began to cover my hands and arms.  
  
"Fir…e Sto…" Serena let out a little gasp, then went limp in my arms as he eyes rolled back in her head.  
  
"No…NO! Serena, wake up!" I shook her violently, trying to revive her. "Wake up! Wake up! Please…wake up…"  
  
I slowed quickly, dropping to my knees and crying loudly as I clutched Serena's now lifeless body to me. She was gone…the only girl I've ever loved…dead in my arms before we even had a chance to build our relationship…  
  
FLASH!  
  
I was standing outside a cemetery, dressed in a fine suit…but why was I here? It was raining and dark out, so dark…  
  
"We are gathered her today to mourn the loss of Serena Vulpos…"  
  
I looked through the gates of the cemetery to see everyone in the house except me standing around a casket, as well as Serena's family. Everyone was crying…but why wasn't I there?…  
  
I noticed the paper in my hand, but I didn't bother to really look at it. I just quickly glanced at it before looking back up. This wasn't right; I wanted to say good-bye to my lover! I tried the gates doors, but they were locked tight. What was going on?! Why couldn't I see my lover one last time!?!…  
  
That's when I took a look at the paper in my hand. I slowly read the words out loud on the official looking paper.  
  
"This is a court order to prevent Xavier Canin, Growlithe Hybrid, from coming within 500 yards of the body of Serena Vulpos or any member of her family…oh God…oh GOD!"  
  
I immediately tossed the paper aside and tried to climb the fence, crying out Serena's name. My cries were ignored by everyone as I tried to climb the slick bars. Every time I was about to reach the top, the fence would grow another two feet high My grip kept slipping, and it was too hard to keep climbing. Why was this happening?!  
  
"It's your fault!" a loud voice called out of nowhere. "It's your fault she's dead!"  
  
"No! I loved her! I never wanted her to get hurt!" I cried out, my hands slipping and causing me to slide down to the bottom.  
  
"She's dead! It's you're fault! She died because of you!"  
  
"No! I loved her!" I yelled, leaning against the bars as I tried to climb again, only to slip down again. "I loved her! I LOVED HER!"  
  
"She's dead because of your love! She's dead because of you!"  
  
"No…I loved her…" I started to cry heavily again. "I loved her…"  
  
"It's your fault! It's your fault! It's your fault!…"  
  
  
  
"Serena!!!!"  
  
I bolted awake, my fur slick with sweat. Serena! Where was she?!  
  
"Fire Storm!" Serena rushed up the stairs and looked around quickly to see me, then rushed over to the bed. "What's wrong?!"  
  
"Serena!" I rose to my knees and hugged Serena to me, stroking her head. "You're still here!"  
  
"Of course I'm still here!" She hugged me too, but seem confused. "Are you alright?"  
  
I was too scared and relieved at the same time to answer. It was just a nightmare…a terrible, terrible nightmare…  
  
We silently held each other for a while, Serena probably realizing I wanted to be comforted. It felt good for her to be in my arms, letting me know everything was all right without having to say a word. After a while I slowly let go and got a grip on myself.  
  
"Fire Storm, what happened?"  
  
"I'm sorry, Serena, I just…" I looked into her eyes when a dreadful thought suddenly hit me; what if that dream was predicting something? What if my love for Serena really ended up killing her? Could I afford it?…no, I was being dumb. Nothing like that would ever happen…would it?  
  
"It was just a really bad dream; I'm sorry if I scared you." I said with a little whimper. I felt uncomfortable with telling Serena what really happened. What if she believed what happened in the dream really would happen if she stayed with me? I didn't want to lose her…  
  
"If you're sure…" Serena slowly pulled away from me as I got my feet on the floor. "Are we going to pick up your friend from jail now?"  
  
"I think we'll have to, yes. He did ask for me specifically, and I don't want to leave him in there forever."  
  
"Hmm…you're right. Still, what he did was very odd, not to mention dangerous. Is he alright, mentally?"  
  
"You're not the first to ask that, but I think so. He just gets a little out of hand sometimes.  
  
"If you say so, but I'm still a little concerned with his behavior."  
  
"It'll be fine; besides, I'm not sure you're the best one to talk about odd behavior. Isn't this the self-proclaimed winner of the best online blink contest?" I said with a smile.  
  
"Well…" Serena looked down, and though I couldn't tell, I was sure she was blushing under her fur.  
  
"Come on, let's go downstairs. I just wanna grab a bite to eat, and then will go."  
  
Serena nodded and started for the stairs while I followed not far behind her. Why was I getting so worried about her just because of one little dream? I mean, I'd been able to keep my own mother from finding out my double-life; I'm sure I could keep Serena far away from my bounty hunting. I've told her about the things I've done, and even though she admits it sounds exciting, she said she would never do something like that for a job…and yet that damn dream kept playing over and over in the back of my head. What if something like that did happen, despite all my efforts to keep it from happening? I'd never be able to forgive myself…  
  
I'd probably have continued thinking about that, had I not seen Eevee playing with Chris and Andrea's kids. They were tackling each other, rolling around; basically having a great time. I smiled as I pushed that dream away for now, laughing to myself at the humor and cute way they all played together.  
  
"Enjoying yourself there, guys?" I asked with a smile.  
  
"Eui!" Eevee squeaked before being tackled to the ground by Chris' daughter Brave Stalker. His other daughter, Spike Fur, soon followed, piling on top of all of them. They all laughed and squeaked in happiness before rolling around again, looking like one big ball of fur as they moved under the table.  
  
"Be careful down there!" Serena called down as I went to the kitchen to make the call to Joy. After a few rings, Joy picked up. I'd barely gotten the words, "Hey Joy" out of my mouth before Joy broke in.  
  
"Xavier! Thank God you called! Look, could you come in early today? The place is swamped!"  
  
"What?! The place is usually dead on Saturdays!"  
  
"I know, but you know that grape festival that was today at the winery? Well, someone slipped something really nasty into the grape juice that everyone drinks to celebrate the anniversary of the winery's building. Everyone's got really bad stomach cramps, and I've got all sorts of sick people here that need care!"  
  
"Oh…I was calling to let you know I couldn't come in today…"  
  
"Oh no! Please Xavier, I really need you today!"  
  
"Geez…Joy, I have to bail someone out of jail…what if I got someone to go in my place?"  
  
"I guess that would work. Who could send?"  
  
"Hold on a sec." I put down the phone and went looking for the others. No one else was around except for Serena, Chris' kids, Eevee and Houndor. "Uh…Serena, where is everyone?"  
  
"Oh; I forgot to tell you. Rick had a bunch of art he was going to sell at an art convention a few towns over, and everyone else except me, Houndor, Eevee and the kids decided to go with him. They would've been back by now, but there was a big accident on the highway. The van is still here, but they're all stuck in that rented car behind a lot of traffic. They called and said it'd be a while before they got back."  
  
"Dang…" I really should pick up Bob…but how could I if I had to work?  
  
"Serena? Would you mind going into work for me? I need to get Bob, but Joy really needs help at the Center and you're the only one I can get on such short notice."  
  
"Sure, if you can give me a ride. I'm sure your friend really needs the help."  
  
"Thanks." I smiled and quickly returned to Joy. "O.K. Joy; Serena will fill in for me."  
  
"Thank go…no! Not on the new carpet!…please, hurry!" Joy quickly hung up. I quickly threw on my jacket and started to leave when it occurred to me.  
  
"Oh…I should probably take the kids with me, shouldn't I?" I asked as Eevee and Chris' kids rolled out from under the table, finally collapsing into a heap on the floor.  
  
"Probably." Serena nodded. Luckily the car seats for the kids were still in the van, so all that was left was to grab their toys and bottles and stuff. Eevee decided he wanted to come to, so he rushed into the van. I was just leaving to lock up when Houndor came down the stairs.  
  
"Fire Storm? Where are you going?" he asked.  
  
"Oh; Houndor! I'd forgotten you didn't go with the others."  
  
"No; Rick said it was a big place and that it was far away. It sounded too scary to me."  
  
"Right." I had to resist the initial urge to sigh and shake my head. "Well, I need to go to the city and get a friend…and now that I think about it, you should probably come along."  
  
"The city?! But…" Houndor whimpered, "it's so big…"  
  
"Well, tell you what Houndor; you can either come with me or stay home alone…well, no, not alone. There's still that Ratatta in the walls…"  
  
"NO!" Houndor whined loudly and covered his head with his paws. "I'll go with you! Please don't leave me here by myself!"  
  
"Alright, go get in the car and I'll be there in a second."  
  
"Can I get my leash?"  
  
"*Sigh* Yeah, you can get your leash…."  
  
Houndor ran back upstairs, running down with his leash and collar in his muzzle. He doesn't want to get separated from me, so he always wants to be on his leash so he won't get lost. I've told him all he has to do is stay near me, but he still insists on the leash. I've given up trying to convince him otherwise. I slipped on the collar, hooked on the leash and led him out to the car.  
  
Serena and I didn't say much as I drove to the Center. I guess neither of us really knew what to say. We'd both confessed our feelings for each other; what was next? We should probably do stuff together, but I had no experience dating. I had no clue what to do, and I guess Serena didn't either.  
  
When we got to the Center, I could already see Joy really did need a lot of help. There was a huge crowd in the parking lot of all sorts of people. The humans looked green in the face and gills, and there was an acidic smell in the air that smelled distinctly like what came out of my mouth in Chp.2 when I realized who Phoenix was.  
  
"Wow! Joy wasn't kidding!" I muttered in disbelief, looking around. "What the heck happened at that festival?"  
  
"I don't know…I probably should get in there." Serena started to get out, then turned around and gave me a quick kiss on the muzzle. "See you later."  
  
"Right…later…bye…" Serena just smiled at my sudden loss of vocabulary and rushed through the crowd into the Center.  
  
"Fire Storm?" Houndor moved up from the middle of the van to take Serena's spot. "What was that?"  
  
"What was what?"  
  
"That thing Serena just did. Why'd she hit her muzzle against yours like that?"  
  
"Oh, that…" Yeah, I was going to explain to a baby Pokemon about love when I didn't know a whole lot about it myself. "She…did it to show how much she cares for me."  
  
"I care for you. Should I do that too?"  
  
"No, no; that's a different kind of caring…" I started off toward the city as I continued. "The kind of caring Serena and I have…it's called love."  
  
"Love?"  
  
"Yes, love; it's when two people care for each other very much; more than anything else. They always want to be with that person and make sure nothing bad happens to them."  
  
"But…I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You don't want anything bad to happen to me, do you?" Houndor asked with a slight tone of worry in his voice.  
  
"Of course not! I love you too; I love all you guys, just not in the same way I love Serena."  
  
"I'm confused…" Houndor said. "You love us, and you love Serena, but not in the same way…why not? What's different about your love for her and your love for us?"  
  
"Well…Serena is a very nice girl; someone who maybe one day I'd like to marry and have as a mate. You guys…I really care for you all, but I don't want to marry or mate with you guys. Still, there are other things that you can give me that Serena just can't. That's the kind of love I have for you."  
  
"Oh…" Houndor sat in silence for a while before saying. "I still don't think I get it."  
  
I smiled. "That's O.K. It's a complicated thing; I'll explain it to you more when you're older."  
  
"O.K." We made small talk the rest of the way, though I did have to stop twice, once to feed the kids and once to change them(always a fun thing). I'd called my assistant district attorney friend(she handles the cases of most of the guys I catch, and I have to go to court to testify against them; me and Phoenix have become pretty friendly with her) early in the trip, and she got the place where Bob was being held just as I entered the city.  
  
When I reached the precinct where Bob was being held and gotten inside, I could see him doing tai-chi(a form of meditation) in his cell. He was about 6'2" with blonde hair in a Caesar cut and a fo-man-chu beard (That's what he calls it). He wore a pair of sandals, a pair of sweatpants, the, "I shot J.R." t-shirt and a long gray overcoat on his slim frame. He also wore sunglasses with flip up sun lenses, which were currently up at the moment.  
  
"Excuse me," I went to the main desk and spoke with the officer there. "I'm here to bail out that guy." I pointed at Bob.  
  
"Oh; him…" The officer looked through a book in front of him, then glanced down a page. "May I ask what your relationship is to him?"  
  
"Uh…he's my brothers wife's sister's cousin…" It was lame, but it sounded better than, "He's my ally in this world that shouldn't exist because Pokemon is just supposed to be a highly marketed video game and I created Hybrids for the purpose of writing a story."  
  
"Whatever." He obviously didn't care. "That'll be…$250,000 dollars."  
  
"WHAT?!" For about half a second I thought of saying, "Screw that!", but regretfully I pulled out my checkbook for Phoenix's account. She must've been saving up for a while, since she had almost half a million saved up in there. She said I could use it if I ever had an emergency; I'd just have to make sure she didn't see her next bank statement.  
  
"Here you go." I filled out the check and signed it, handing it to the officer. "Let him out before I change my mind."  
  
"Sure; I'm surprised somebody actually came for him in the first place." The officer picked up a set of keys from the desk and walked over to the cell.  
  
"Someone approaches" Bob said without looking up.  
  
"Uh, right." Must stay calm; must stay calm… "Alright, you've got a LOT of explaining to do!" Bob picked his head up and looked at me oddly.  
  
"Do I know you?"  
  
"I want my puppy? Yeah, I think you know me!" That's when he saw the keys in the officers' hand.  
  
"Oh, keys!" He quickly reached through the bars and snatched the keys from the officers' hand.  
  
"Hey!" The cop just shook his head and left, muttering, "Drop them on the desk when you're done."  
  
"Bob, please don't make this any harder than it has to be…"  
  
"Are you gonna unlock the cell or what?" he asked, ignoring me.  
  
"I need the keys to unlock the cell." I pointed out.  
  
"Oh, right." He reached through the bars and unlocked the cell himself, then opened it and stepped out. Something told me it was going to be a long ride home…  
  
"Alright, let's get going…" Bob, however, didn't follow.  
  
"Do I know you?"  
  
"Do you know me?! We've been chatting online for months! How could you not know me?!"  
  
"I'm sorry, but I have no clue who you are. You said something about my puppy?"  
  
If this were an anime, right about now would've been the time you'd see the vein swelling on my head. I could feel the Zap Cannon in the holster of my jacket against my chest, and it was a challenge to fight the urge to pull it out and end this quickly. Sure, in the long run I'd be arrested for murder and probably spend a good portion of my life in jail, but the immediate satisfaction was hard to ignore.  
  
"Yeah, I got your puppy outside…" I said through clenched teeth. "Come with me and we'll go get him."  
  
"Cool. My name's Yugoth, Robert Yugoth, but you can call me Bob."  
  
"Right…" I quickly dropped the keys off on the officers desk and went outside with Bob. The second Bob closed the door behind him I felt ready to punch him, but he got the first words out.  
  
"We clear?"  
  
"What?" I was confused but looked around anyway. "There's no one here."  
  
"Good. Sorry about the act, but I gotta cover my trail. You understand, don't ya?"  
  
"Yeah, right. About that…WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING DOING SOMETHING SO STUPID ON LIVE T.V?!" I yelled, unable to control my anger anymore. Bob responded rather calmly.  
  
"It's all part of my master plan. Step 1; get to New York City. Step 2; get your attention…"  
  
"Well you succeeded there!"  
  
"Thanks; where's your car?"  
  
"Over there…" Urge to kill rising… "Don't even THINK you're driving…"  
  
"No problem, but I call shotgun."  
  
"Fine…" We got into the van, but Houndor ran into the back as soon as he saw Bob enter.  
  
"Fire Storm! There's a strange person in the car!"  
  
"I know Houndor; he's a friend of mine. It's O.K; he won't hurt you."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
I had to pause for a moment before responding. "I'm sure."  
  
At least not intentionally, I silently added. Houndor slowly approached, shaking so much I was surprised the whole car wasn't shaking as well. Bob smiled and gently stroked Houndor's head. Houndor let him, but still shook like someone hit with an Earthquake attack.  
  
"Hey, what's with the leash?" Bob asked, reaching back and gently picking up Houndor's leash.  
  
"It's his idea; I'll explain later." I started the car and we were off. I thought there'd be a lot of silence, but Bob quickly filled the air with talk.  
  
"It's a good thing you got my e-mail; I was starting to worry that you might not have gotten it."  
  
"No, I got it…" I sighed and shook my head. "You know, you could've just wrote an e-mail and told me you were coming in for a visit; it wouldn't have been a problem."  
  
"Eh." Bob shrugged. "I suppose, but that was more fun."  
  
"Right…" I tried to think of something else to say before the urge to slug him overtook me. "So, besides causing a huge scene and getting yourself arrested, is there anything in particular you wanted to come over for?"  
  
"Yeah; there's a lot I wanna talk about, but we can do that at your house…could you turn down into that alley?" he asked, pointing ahead of us.  
  
"What?! Why?!"  
  
"I need to get my stuff."  
  
"Your stuff? What kind of stuff?"  
  
"My stash."  
  
"Your stash?! Are you taking drugs or something?!"  
  
"Nah; just my stuff from home."  
  
"Grrr…alright…" I slowly pulled into the alley, really trying to resist the urge to blow his head off. He is your friend, he is your friend…  
  
We both got out of the car. I went around to check on the kids while Bob starting searching under a dumpster.  
  
"What are you doing?!" I half-yelled at him in confusion.  
  
"Looking for something…there!" Bob pulled out a metal rod of some sort. Before I could ask what it was for, he went over to a nearby manhole and used the rod to open it up.  
  
"You left your stuff in the sewer?!"  
  
"Duh. Where else would I put it?'  
  
"I…oh, just hurry up!"  
  
I watched him slowly go down through the hole, then began to check on everyone. There were no bad smells or anything coming from the car, so the kids didn't need to be changed. Eevee was having a great big talk with the kids, and Houndor was busy shaking. I picked up Houndor and gently began to stroke him, trying to calm him.  
  
"It's alright Houndor; there's nothing to be scared of…"  
  
"You don't understand Fire Storm; you're big and brave. You don't have to worry about anything. I'm not; I need you to protect me. I'm too little…"  
  
"Houndor, just because you're little doesn't mean you have to be scared of everything. Nobody's out to try and hurt you…"  
  
"What about those guys who wear those towels on their heads and live in those caves? They said they want to get rid of everyone in America, and we all live in America!"  
  
"It's O.K…" I thought about the huge line of cars I saw heading to ground zero for the 9/11 attacks and remembered the despair and anger I felt when I saw the replays of the planes hitting the towers. "They won't be able to hurt us. Our President and the military will stop the bad guys who wear towels on their heads…do you remember my special name for those guys?"  
  
"Nutjobs?"  
  
I smiled and stroked Houndor again. "Good boy. You remembered."  
  
"Hello? Can I help you?"  
  
"GAH!" I turned suddenly, surprised by the new voice behind me. For about two seconds, my Growlithe instincts made me growl at the female Persian Hybrid behind me before I got control of myself. She seemed to be about 14 or 15, with a mostly human shaped body. Her face was human shaped, but was covered entirely in cream fur. Her nose was small and black, and three whiskers stood out on each side of her face. Her ears were on top of her head and poked through her brown hair, curved and covered with black fur. The eyes were human looking, except that her brown pupils were little more than narrow slits(Which actually kinda scared me). The smooth looking circular mark on her forehead like a Persians wasn't too bad; just a little odd looking.  
  
The rest of her body was covered in cream colored fur from what I could see. Her hands were human shaped, though her fingers seemed much rounder than a humans. With her bare feet, I could see she had three rounded toes on each foot instead of the five like a human. Her tail was also cream colored and curled at the end, probably about two feet in length. She wasn't a tall or large girl; at most, she was maybe 5 and a half feet tall. She wore a sweater and jeans against the slight chill in the air. A Spinarak was perched on her shoulder and she held a Teddiursa in her arms.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl apologized in a sweet, soft voice. "I didn't mean to scare you…"  
  
"No, no; it's alright. You just surprised me…" Oh man; if I jumped like that, Houndor probably lost his mind…  
  
"Hi. My name's Houndor. What's yours?"  
  
The Persian Hybrid smiled. "My name's Chantal, and these are my friend, Spinarak and Teddiursa.  
  
"Hello!" the Teddiursa said happily. "Nice to meet you."  
  
"Hi." The Spinarak said, clicking its mouth pincers together. I guess that was supposed to be a smile.  
  
"I…I…" I stared down at Houndor is shock. Usually Houndor runs away with his tail between his legs if he sees anyone at all unfamiliar to him; yet here he was, having a conversation with this total stranger like he knew her forever.  
  
"Oh; sorry." I recovered quickly, trying to remember my manners. "My name's Fire Storm." Chantal…why'd that name sound familiar?  
  
"Hello Fire Storm…" Chantal looked around behind me at the open manhole cover. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding, but may I ask why that sewer cover is open?"  
  
"What? Oh, that…" This was gonna be hard to explain. "My friend is down there at the moment. He's…looking for his things."  
  
"In the sewers?"  
  
"Yeah; that was kinda my point…" Wait a minute…female Persian Hybrid…nice, gentle nature…Spinarak and Teddiursa…apologizing for things that really aren't her fault…  
  
"Tyger?"  
  
"What?" Chantal seemed confused, but her ears perked up at the mention of the name Tyger.  
  
"Chantal…do you remember a day back in July…it was a Sunday, and you received a strange device wrapped up in the morning papers. It was from Nintendo; a device that, at the time at least, seemed revolutionary. It allowed you to play your Game Boy games online, and you rushed off to try it after a moments debate. However, it didn't go well for you at all. The attachment; nay, your whole computer exploded on you…"  
  
"Hey! How'd you…oh my…" Chantal looked shocked. "F-FireHybrid? That's you?!"  
  
I smiled. "Yup. Nice to meet you in person, Tygerwind8."  
  
"Chantal? You pretend like Fire Storm too?" Houndor asked, confused. I tried to convince my Pokemon friends in the beginning that I really wasn't their trainer and that I came from a world where they didn't exist; I told them everything that happened on that fateful day. They still don't believe a word of it; Eevee and Houndor, the youngest of all of them, think I'm playing pretend, and the others think I'm practicing my role-playing skills or something like that. By now I've just given up.  
  
"Yeah; she made that story up a while ago." The Teddiursa looked up at Tyger. "I think it must be some sort of game; she's always talking about it with people in the computer."  
  
"My trainer does that too. He must like it; he talks about it a lot."  
  
"You two have fun." I said while the two of them continued to talk. Looking up at Chantal, I asked, "What are you doing here, anyway?"  
  
"Well, I was up here visiting an uncle of mine. I was starting back toward the train station home when I passed by an electronic store. They had a bunch of TVs playing in the window, and I saw this show where a guy was on the set with guns. He reminded me a lot of your friend Bob you told me about, so I went to try and find him and ask him what he was doing. I saw you along the way, and you looked like you needed help. From there…well, here I am."  
  
"I see…" I heard something hit the ground behind me, and turned to see a bag sitting next to the manhole, followed by another bag that flew up out of it. "Guess Bob found his stuff."  
  
"Guess so…" Another bag came out, then Bob climbed out of the sewers, smelling a bit like raw sewage.  
  
"Ewww…" Teddiursa covered his nose with his paws. "Stinky!" I had to keep myself from laughing at that.  
  
"I've got everything." Bob informed me, tossing his things in the van. "Let's get going."  
  
"Right." I looked over at Chantal. "Want a lift?"  
  
She shook her head. "That's O.K. The train station's not that far."  
  
"Oh…well, why don't you come with us to the house? We've got a few people visiting that remember the old world, and we're always trying to find more. There's a train station nearby that could probably get you back on track in no time when you need to go."  
  
"Well…" Chantal thought this over for a minute. "I do need to get home…but I did tell my parents I wouldn't be home for a few more days…alright; I guess I could stop by for a little while."  
  
"Great!" I smiled as Chantal climbed in the middle seats next to Chris' kids. I put Houndor in the back with them and we started off toward home again.  
  
"Oh, wait; before I forget…" Bob reached into a bag and pulled out a very large bundle of money. "Here. This should replace what was spent on my bail."  
  
"Gee; thanks…" I took a look at the money, then put it on the floor between us. "Any reason why you didn't pay that yourself?"  
  
Bob shrugged, then reached into his bag and pulled out even more money. "Here's $50,000; there's five one's and a check for $49,995. Think of it as rent."  
  
"Damn…" I placed it with the rest. "Your money's as green as anyone's, I guess."  
  
"Good. Well, say goodbye to strangers…and welcome stray dogs."  
  
"Wait. What?!" I'd stopped the car in my confusion, and Bob hopped out and started to go down in alley. "Where are you going?!"  
  
"Sorry, but Bob don't know you guys. Bob's gonna leave." With that, he ran down the alley and was lost in the darkness.  
  
"Um…" I looked back at Chantal, who looked as confused as me. "Did you understand that?"  
  
"No; did you?"  
  
"No; I'm just glad I'm not the only one who didn't understand…"  
  
"Eui?" Spike Fur and Brave Stalker looked confused as well.  
  
"Fire Storm? Why'd your friend leave?" Eevee asked.  
  
"I don't know…"  
  
"Fire Storm!" Houndor looked over at Bob's stuff. "Your friend left his things here. Is he gonna come back for them?"  
  
"I don't think so."  
  
"What are we gonna do with it then?"  
  
"I…guess we'll just hold onto it." The people behind me started to get impatient and honked their horns. "Alright! I'm moving!"  
  
We started moving again just when a Houndoom turned the corner ahead of us. It barked loudly and ran up beside the car, keeping up with us as we drove.  
  
"What? What do you…wait…" I turned back to Chantal. "I said Bob was a Houndoom Hybrid, right?"  
  
"Hmm…yes, I believe you did."  
  
"Then I guess this is him…" The Houndoom began to scratch at the door. "Hey! Mom will kill me if the paint job's messed up!" I opened my door to let the Houndoom in. What got me was how he managed to get around so fast. It should've been physically impossible to move that fast.  
  
"Thanks." The Houndoom leapt across my lap and into the empty passenger side seat, barely missing my muzzle with his horns.  
  
"Oof!" His weight on my lap was more than I was expecting. "Couldn't you've gone around?!"  
  
He shrugged in response. The urge to kill was growing strong again. I figured it was best if we just left before it got any worse.  
  
"So, any reason why you couldn't have just done that earlier and saved us all this trouble?" I asked Bob as we started moving again.  
  
"All part of the plan; you'll see."  
  
"Right." I gave him an odd look and tried not to sigh again. He was really testing my patience. "I forget; what's your name again?"  
  
"It's Bob."  
  
"No, I meant your name for that form."  
  
"It's Robert; are you feeling O.K?"  
  
"I meant…GAH!" Brain…breaking down… "Forget it…" I meant the name for his Pokémon form, but I guess he didn't see that.  
  
I looked back to check on everyone, and saw Chantal holding and stroking Houndor, who'd looked calm for once. She must just have a way with Pokémon or something to be able to calm Houndor so much.  
  
"Hey…Overdark," I asked the Houndoom, finally remembering his Pokémon and Hybrid name. "Can you help me out with something?"  
  
"Sure; what's up."  
  
"Well, it's Houndor." I looked back at Houndor real quick before going on. "You see, Houndor's a little…well, he's not like dark-types are at all. I was wondering if maybe you could help me figure out why, being a dark-type yourself."  
  
"What's wrong with him?"  
  
"Well…he just doesn't act like dark-types should. He's kinda a coward, and while I'm happy with him anyway, I want him to be able to defend himself if he ever gets into a fight or something. Maybe you can tell me what's making him so afraid of everything?"  
  
"I could try. Let me see him."  
  
"O.K; hold on." I looked over to Chantal. "Hey Chantal; can I see Houndor for a second?"  
  
"Sure." Chantal placed Houndor on the middle seat where Overdark could see him.  
  
"What do you need me for, Fire Storm?" Houndor asked.  
  
"I just need to see something Houndor." I looked over at Overdark as I stopped at a red light. "Whenever you're ready…"  
  
"O.K." Overdark looked over at Houndor and began to growl at him. I was confused but let him continue, resisting the initial urge to stop him. Houndor whimpered and started to shake a little, looking confused and scared. He picked up the volume and intensity of the growls quickly, sounding quite threatening. Houndor whimpered and cowered back into the seat.  
  
"F-Fire Storm…why's your friend growling at me?..."  
  
"I'm not sure; what are you doing? You're scaring him!" Overdark suddenly stopped and turned back around, looking down. The light changed, so we started moving again while he seemed deep in thought. After a few minutes Houndor calmed down and Overdark looked up again.  
  
"I think I've found the problem."  
  
"Good; mind sharing?"  
  
"Somebody's been mothering him."  
  
"Mothering him? Who would…" It suddenly dawned on me who he meant. "Hey! I haven't been mothering him that much!"  
  
"Hmm; then he's just a freak."  
  
"Hey…" Houndor whimpered and rolled into a ball, not looking at anyone. Oh crap; now he's probably upset with himself for being so afraid all the time. There I go with my big mouth again…  
  
I didn't say anything on the rest of the way back to the Center. I'd decided to patch things up with Houndor over there and explain that I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. It seemed simple enough as we pulled into the Center and I parked the van. We went into the Center, Houndor on his leash while I unloaded Spike Fur and Brave Stalker out of the car and bought them in the Center one at a time. All the sick people who'd been by had left, but the place still had a lingering smell of vomit.  
  
"Fire Storm! Welcome back!" Joy was mopping up the floor while I placed Brave Stalker on a seat in the waiting area next to her sister. "Everything go over well?"  
  
"Hey Joy; yeah, everything's good now." I looked around, trying not to breathe in through my nose. "I'd like to say I missed being here, but today that'd have to be a lie."  
  
"I don't blame you; I didn't want to be here myself after a few hours…" Joy sighed and placed one of those yellow "Caution: Wet Floor" signs down before putting the mop away. "I'm just glad it's over."  
  
"One would think. Where's Serena?"  
  
"She's not here anymore."  
  
"What?!" She was at the Pokémon Center; what could've happened to her here?!  
  
"She went over to her Gym to visit. She should be back soon."  
  
"Oh…" Damn man; get a grip on yourself. You had one nightmare and you're flipping out…  
  
Many of you maybe wondering by now how such a small dream, albeit a very real feeling one, could affect me so much. Well, truth be told, I've always longed for true love since I was 13. I was young at the time, yeah, but knowing somebody cares for me has always been important. Maybe that just comes with the fact that I've never been very popular, and that in the Shadow World most of the friends I made moved away within a few years of me knowing them. It also doesn't help that I was picked on a lot and that I was and still am pretty much shunned in middle and high school; half the time when someone new says hello to me, I immediately think they have something planned to hurt me in someway. Losing someone who really cared for me would really destroy me inside.  
  
Overdark and Chantal walked in, Eevee and the other Pokèmon not far behind them. While the others looked around, I took Houndor aside and tried to explain what happened before.  
  
"Houndor, look, about what happened in the car; I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just want to help you."  
  
"No Fire Storm, it's O.K. I'm sorry I made you upset. You must not think I'm a very good Pokémon…"  
  
"No, no. You're a great Pokémon, really. I'm just concerned about you. I don't want you to be all reckless and silly; I just want you to be able to stand up for yourself."  
  
"I know… I want to be brave like you, but it's so hard. Some things are just so scary, but you're not afraid of anything. Can you teach me how to be brave like you?"  
  
"Houndor…" I was felt flattered; Houndor thought I was fearless? If only he knew. "It's O.K. to be afraid of some things. Everyone needs to be a little afraid; if everyone had no fear, we'd be out doing crazy things that could really hurt us. I'm afraid of things too; in fact, there's no one in the whole world that isn't afraid of something."  
  
"Oh…what are you afraid of, Fire Storm?"  
  
"Well, I'm really afraid of heights for one thing. Bugs are really bad for me too, especially one's that can sting."  
  
"Wow!" Houndor seemed amazed. "Is there anything else you're afraid of?"  
  
"Yeah, but you know now that everyone's afraid of something, and that while you could be a little braver, it's O.K to be who you are."  
  
"O.K; thanks Fire Storm." Houndor smiled and looked happier than before. I petted him before he went over to the day-care for babies of all races. He likes the toys that are in there. I put Brave Stalker and Spike Fur in there with him.  
  
"Chantal? Overdark? Joy? Where'd you all go?!" I called out for everyone, unsure where they'd all went. After a little searching I found them in the Center's kitchen, watching the T.V. in there. They all seemed glued to the set.  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"Fire Storm…you're not gonna believe this…"  
  
"What?" I watched the T.V., confused. The Gym where Serena used to be Leader was on the T.V.  
  
"…We repeat, this is breaking news coming out of the Apple Grove Town Gym. There have been reports of shots fired inside the Gym, and police are unable to contact anyone inside the building. The number of gunmen or hostages they may have is also unknown at this time, but we'll give you details as we receive them…"  
  
"No…no…NO!" It was happening! My nightmare was happening! Serena was gonna get shot and killed! I was going to lose my friend, my lover… no, please don't let this happen… no…  
  
The next thing I knew, I was falling to the floor, the world getting dark as I lay in a crumpled heap. The shock of what happened was just too much for me to handle. The nightmare was right; I lost the only girl I loved… maybe the only one I could ever love, and it was technical my fault. If she hadn't come, she'd still be alive. If I hadn't asked her to go to work for me, she wouldn't have gone to the Gym… but now she was dead… it was all my fault… my fault…  
  
  
  
Everyone was walking out of the cemetery, ignoring me as they walked passed. I called out to them but they ignored me. After they left, the gate to the cemetery stayed open. No one was around…  
  
I slipped through the gate and into the cemetery. Serena's tombstone was easily visible atop a hill. I scrambled up there, blinking back tears.  
  
"Serena…" I stood in front of where the ground slightly rose above the earth, holding back more tears. "I'm sorry…it's all my fault!" I just couldn't take it anymore. I cried. I cried and confessed everything. "I knew that dream was telling me something. I'd knew you'd get hurt if you stayed with me, but I wanted you so badly… please, forgive me. I was so lonely… you're the only one who's ever had deep feelings for me; I didn't want to lose that…"  
  
" But now you're gone! If only I told you to stay away from me; I wouldn't care. You'd still be here… I just wanted you here, wanted you for me… and now you're gone! I killed you! I killed you!!!"  
  
Now the tears really started to flow. I was a fool and an idiot; I didn't deserve to live. I killed the only person who'd ever gotten close to me, and I knew that something would happen to anyone else who tried to be real close as well. I really wanted everyone to go away; get as far away from me as possible so I couldn't hurt anyone else. I'd be incredibly lonely, but no one else would get hurt by knowing me; that was all that was important.  
  
I fell to my hands and knees, pounding the ground above Serena's casket in anger. I wanted her back so badly, but I knew she wouldn't come back. She was gone; gone for good because of my stupidity…  
  
I don't know how much time passed before it happened, but after a while the ground below me started to shake. At first I thought it was Hell coming to swallow me up. As I looked through tear-filled eyes, though, I couldn't see any cracks in the ground. What was going on?  
  
"Wha?..." Beams of light were shooting out through the ground above Serena's grave. I scrambled backwards and got to my feet in time to see the entire ground above the grave disappear as the small beams of light connected into one giant beam. The light was so bright I had to shield my eyes to avoid being blinded. After a few seconds the light died down and I moved my arm so I could see what happened.  
  
"Oh my God…Serena?..." Serena was standing in her now open casket, the dirt and grass flowers above it obliterated by the light. Serena smiled and slowly, very slowly floated over to me, looking as healthy as she ever had. I was too stunned to move as Serena stopped and landed in front of me, gently hugging me and looking up at me.  
  
"It's no mistake, love; it isn't…" she said in her innocent, lovely voice.  
  
"Serena; you're back…" I hugged her gently, looking into her eyes as my spirits quickly grew again. "You came back to me…"  
  
"I never left, Xavier; I never left."  
  
"I promise I'll be better; just don't leave me again, please…" Serena gently kissed the edge of my muzzle in response.  
  
"I never left, and I never will…"  
  
  
  
Suddenly I was no longer in the dark, cold cemetery. Instead I was in a bed at the Center, hugging Serena to me as I felt tears in the corners of my eyes.  
  
"Serena?...Serena!" This was real; I knew that for sure. I hugged her tightly, not wanting to lose her again.  
  
"You were worried about me because of your job, weren't you?"  
  
"Yeah…" I sniffed and blinked back some tears. "I had a nightmare before; a man took you hostage and shot you so he could escape… I tried to save you, but you died in my arms…"  
  
Serena smiled and licked my muzzle a bit. "I'm never going to get that close to any of your work hun; don't worry."  
  
I murred slightly and smiled weakly. "Thank you, but I just got so worried. I'd thought you'd leave me, and I really wanted you to be with me. When I saw the report on the T.V about the shooting, I just lost it…"  
  
"It's alright; a man shot off a gun, but he didn't shoot anyone. They were just warning shots." She smiled at me, trying to reassure me.  
  
"Please Serena; don't leave me. Don't ever leave me…"  
  
"I'd never leave you, not for my own life. It'll take more than death to keep me away from you Xavier Canin."  
  
"Serena…" I never knew she cared so much for me. I nuzzled her muzzle gently, letting her know I really cared for her too.  
  
"Xavier…" Serena nuzzled back, letting out a happy little sigh. I couldn't have felt happier if I'd tried…  
  
I can't explain the odd feeling that just came over me next. I suddenly just felt this dark presence coming from outside the Center. It wasn't far at all; maybe a few hundred yards at most. I didn't know what its exact purpose was; all I knew for certain was that the purpose was evil…no, it wasn't just the purpose that was evil. The person behind it; they were evil themselves. They had to be stopped.  
  
"Xavier?" I guess Serena noticed I'd stopped nuzzling and had a deadly serious look on my face. To be honest, I had no idea what was going on either. It felt like some presence was taking over my body, telling me what to do. It felt weird, but it wasn't a bad presence. In fact, it felt like it belonged with me. It took control of my muzzle next; even though I said the words that came out next, it wasn't actually me saying them. Confusing, I know, but I felt kinda confused about it myself afterwards.  
  
"Serena, go into the basement. Have Joy let you in. After you go down, look at the third shelf on your right; there should be a gun with an energy chamber in it. Get it, the box and the cable that are on the shelf and bring them here; now."  
  
"Huh?" Serena looked confused. "Why?"  
  
"Just do it; please."  
  
She nodded and left, looking a little confused. I quickly got up and went to the bathroom, washing and drying my face and cleaning up my appearance. I had been crying judging by the way my fur was moist before I washed and dried it up. It still felt like I wasn't actually doing what I was. As odd as it felt, I didn't think about trying to expel this force that was taking over my body. Granted; I didn't know how I would go about doing that anyway, but the feeling it gave me made me feel calm and confident, and I couldn't bring myself to getting rid of it.  
  
Serena came back with the objects I'd asked for. The gun looked like a regular pistol, but it had an energy chamber and required energy cells instead of bullets. I'd recognized it immediately; it was a Ghost Blaster; one of the few weapons that can hurt a ghost. There was a port for me to plug in the small cable Serena bought and another on the box too. The small box had one big handle on it and a pair of doors painted in a black and yellow warning pattern. It was a trap for ghosts so that when it was thrown underneath them or in them and I pulled the trigger on the Blaster when they were connected, it'd suck them in and trap them. She'd also bought a few energy cells.  
  
"Thank you; stay here." I took the things, slipped the cable and cells into my pocket and hooked the box to my belt, then quickly left through the back doors of the Center. There's a big patch of woods back there. Normally it'd take forever to find anyone back there, but this presence in my body seemed to know where it was going.  
  
I ran for what felt like forever, then stopped. Yes, the source of this evil felt close. I moved slowly, gun drawn and pointed in front of me. I tried moving quietly, but a lot of trees had lost their leaves, which dried up on the ground. Every step I took was followed by a loud crunch. Anyone out here would've heard me easi…  
  
WHOOSH!  
  
"Geez!" I dove to the ground as I heard the all too familiar sound of a Hydro Cannon gun going off. The water soared above me and splashed into a tree a few yards ahead of me. I rolled, turned and fired blindly behind me, hoping the ball of bluish colored energy would score a lucky hit.  
  
"Shit!" I'd missed, but as I got to my feet I could see the ghost Hybrid becoming transparent, causing the water containers on his back to drop to the ground as he ran. I stood there, waiting for whatever was inside me to take over, but after a few seconds I realized I couldn't feel it anymore.  
  
"What the heck is this about?!" I yelled at no one in particular. I took off after him, firing and pursuing the purplish hazy figure in front of me. Being transparent made it hard to see him but not impossible, and when I finally connected with a shot from my Blaster he grew solid looking again. He cried out in pain and slowed as the gun did its thing. (Whatever its thing is, I'm not sure. I just know it works.) Another shot bought him to a stop.  
  
"Time to put this guy away…" I quickly changed cells, then pulled off the box from my belt and hooked it and the box together with the cable. Grabbing it by the handle, I threw it at the Hybrid. It slid right underneath him, waiting to be used. I pulled the trigger on the gun, but instead of a shot the doors on the box opened up and a bright light escaped from it. The Hybrid became surrounded by what looked like bolts of electricity, keeping him from moving as he was slowly sucked in. It was kinda like watching a puddle of water getting sucked up into a wet/dry vacuum. I'm told the transfer is painless for the ghost being captured, but I don't see how it possible could be.  
  
The Hybrid was quickly sucked in, and when he was all the way in a light went off on the trap, telling me the transfer was successful as the door closed. Disconnecting the cable from the gun and trap, I bought it back with me to the Center.  
  
"Xavier!" Joy rushed over with Chantal and Overdark, who both looked confused. They were still in the same forms they had been when I passed out. "What was that all about?"  
  
"I've been having trouble sleeping today; now I know why." I held up the box, showing them it contained a Hybrid. I explained to them what had happened early with me and Serena and how ever since we admitted we had feelings for each other I'd been having terrible nightmares whenever I tried to sleep.  
  
"Is that why you passed out before? Because you thought something happened to Serena?" Chantal asked. I nodded. "Oh… I thought something was bothering you before, but I couldn't really tell what it was. At least you seem better about it now."  
  
"Thanks for your concern." I sighed heavily, feeling really tired. "I'm gonna have to get this guy to the cops soon. I just want to talk to Serena for a little while first."  
  
"That's fine." I thanked them all for understanding and went to Serena, who looked confused as well when I came in.  
  
"What happened?" I explained what happened outside again. "Oh…mind if I try something?"  
  
"Try something?...O.K." What was she going to do? Serena closed her eyes, standing very still. Suddenly it felt like someone was tickling my brain. What was Serena doing?  
  
"Hmm…" She opened her eyes again, looking confused. "Nothing…"  
  
"What'd you do?"  
  
"Psychic…"  
  
"You learned Psychic?! When?"  
  
"A little while ago."  
  
"Oh; what were you doing with Psychic?"  
  
"Reading your mind."  
  
"My mind? Why?"  
  
"Checking for any of the ghost's mind charges that might be left."  
  
"Oh…but you didn't find anything? Is that possible?"  
  
"I think so…" She smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the muzzle again.  
  
"Thanks…" I smiled and blushed under my fur. "Well, I better turn this guy into the police before I get in trouble for waiting too long. Do you want to come with me or stay here?"  
  
"I'm coming!" Serena smiled and went to the car. I gathered everyone else except Joy, who had to stay to close down the Center. I dropped off the Hybrid at the police station, filling out all the paperwork and other boring stuff, then we all went home and went our separate ways. I told Chantal she could stay in Mom's room till she came home, and Bob decided to sleep on the couch in the living room. Chris and the others had returned from the convention, and I explained to them everything that happened and that me and Serena were now boyfriend and girlfriend. They were all very happy for us, though Rick looked a little jealous.  
  
After a quick meal we went our separate ways; me and Serena going into the computer room where the futon was. I changed it to its bed form, then me and Serena sat together on it.  
  
"What a day…" I said with a sigh. Serena smiled and rested her head on my shoulder. I smiled back at her. "It'll take a while, but I think we can really make this work."  
  
"O.K." Serena didn't sound too enthusiastic. I gently took her hand in mine, holding it lightly but firm.  
  
"I really do want to make this work, Serena. It's too soon to tell, but who knows? Maybe this is the start of something big…"  
  
Serena squeezed my hand with her other hand, smiling up at me. "Why not now?"  
  
"What can't I tell now?" I was kinda confused by her question.  
  
She nodded . "Why can't we be together now?"  
  
"Serena…" I was extremely shocked. "Y-you really care for me that much?"  
  
She nodded as her beautiful eyes looked deeply into mine. "I love you."  
  
"Serena… I-I…I love you too…"  
  
Serena smiled and leaned up to kiss me. I let her, gently locking my muzzle onto hers. I gently hugged her to me as she murred loudly, so much so I thought Chantal might hear us in the other room. I murred back and decided to be brave, slowly trying to slip my tongue into her muzzle. She opened her muzzle slightly and accepted it, letting my tongue slowly explore her muzzle.  
  
I expected my Pokémon instincts were starting to drive me nuts. As Serena's tongue slowly wrapped around mine, instead they weren't doing much of anything. As Serena murred loudly and leaned into me, I felt the same way. The stuff we were doing I thought would be really intimate, but I didn't really feel that excited about what we were doing.  
  
As I stroked her tails with one hand and her hair with the other, somewhere in the back of my head I remembered Chris saying something about how Hybrids and Pokémon don't even think about mating or any of the pleasures related to it until their second evolutionary stage, if they have one. Everything I was doing was really just to make Serena happy; I wasn't getting anything out of it. I felt really awkward about what was happening.  
  
RRRRIIINNNGGG! RRRRIIIINNNGGG!  
  
"Fire Storm!" Chantal called out a moment after the phone stopped ringing through Mom's room. "It's your Mom!" I slowly, almost thankfully pulled away from Serena.  
  
"Sorry, Serena. I gotta take this…" She nodded understandingly. I picked up the nearby phone and turned it on, being forced to alter my voice a little. Mom can recognize my usual Hybrid voice in a snap. "Hey Mom; what's up?"  
  
"Xavier? Is that you? You don't sound good."  
  
"Um, yeah, I've…got a little cold."  
  
"I see. You should get to bed early tonight. I was just calling to check up on you… who was that who just answered? I don't recognize the voice."  
  
"Oh…it's just a friend…"  
  
"Oh no! Xavier Canin, do you have even MORE people staying at the house?!" Mom has not been happy with me having all these people over, especially since they're not paying any expenses for all the food and stuff she spends on them. Usually I can get her to stop by asking her why Amber doesn't have to pay; she still says Amber's mother is on a long vacation and will be back any day now, but she's been getting worse about threatening to kick everyone out unless she sees some money.  
  
"Mom, it's O.K! It's only for a few days…"  
  
"It'd better be! Do you know how expensive it is to pay for all thos…"  
  
"Mom, calm down! My other friend is here…"  
  
"Another one?!"  
  
"…And he's already paid $50,000 toward rent."  
  
"Oh…" That calmed her down. "Well… your friends can stay for a while, I suppose…"  
  
"Thanks Mom. Oh, Serena's here too. She'll be able to pay a little too."  
  
"Serena too? What's she doing here… and where'd your friend get $50,000? How old is he?"  
  
"Um…" It just occurred to be I didn't know how Overdark got all that money, and I was wondering if maybe I didn't want to know. "Sorry Mom; you're breaking up! I can't hear you! You must be going through a tunnel or something!"  
  
"Tunnel? Xavier, I'm in the hotel lobby! The phone works fine!"  
  
"The car smells like pine? What? Sorry Mom; call back later! Bye!" I quickly hung up before she could ask anymore questions. The phone rang again almost a second later. "No one get that!"  
  
Thankfully, everyone heard me. The answering machine picked up, but I unplugged it mid-way through. Safe from an intruding mother, I turned back to Serena. I still felt a little uneasy about going back to what we were just doing…  
  
RRRRIIIINNNNGGGG!!  
  
"Sorry…" I actually felt relieved as my cell phone went off. I quickly answered it, knowing who it'd probably be.  
  
"Fire Storm?" Mom again. "Can you do me a favor?"  
  
"Sure; what's up?"  
  
"Can you go by the house and just see if there's anyone there who looks like he belongs in a jail cell? I'm worried about Xavier; I think one of his friends is invo…"  
  
"Sure thing Phoenix. I'll check it out."  
  
"Thanks; I'm sorry to bother you, but Xavier does weird things sometimes, I just worry…" This could go on for a while…  
  
"The place smells like curry? What? Are you in a tunnel?"  
  
"Tunnel? No, I'm not in a… oh, forget it…" This time she hung up. I shut off the phone and turned back to Serena. Now how would I…"  
  
"Hey! Get back here!" We could see the stairs going downstairs from the computer room, and a Ratatta came bolting up them, turning sharply into my bathroom as Chris followed a second behind it. "I'll get yo…wha! Whoa!" *CRASH!*  
  
"Chris!" The Ratatta ran back downstairs as I ran to check on Chris. He was leaning against the wall, getting up when I found him. "What happened?!"  
  
"I slipped on the stupid tile; where'd that rat go?!"  
  
"Downstairs."  
  
"Good; see ya!" He took off after it again. I sighed and shook my head, but didn't even take one step back toward Serena when Dragoniar came slithering in.  
  
"Fire Storm! You said you were gonna let me play your training simulator today, but I can't find it anywhere!"  
  
"Come on!" It was like this for almost an hour, and by the time I got done Rick was using the computer, and there really wasn't anyplace else where we could get some privacy, so we had to wait for him to leave. By the time he left, it was almost midnight.  
  
"O.K; now we can finish up what we started…" I still didn't really want to go through with it. Thankfully, Serena sighed and looked up at me sadly and sleepy.  
  
"Sorry love, but I'm really tired. I just want to go to bed."  
  
"Oh…" I yawned loudly and started feeling sleepy myself. "O.K; you're right." I nuzzled her quickly, sighing. "Good night."  
  
"Night…" Serena nuzzled me back, then we both slowly went to bed. All of my Pokémon friends were asleep when I walked in. In fact, Frealigater parked himself right in the middle of my bed. I didn't want to risk moving him and having him blast with a shot of water surprise; he's done it before, and it really hurts, not to mention makes it hard to fall asleep when your body is shooting with pain.  
  
I walked back into the hall, seeing Serena had already fallen asleep. I smiled as I felt a warm wave of emotions hit me. Suddenly an idea struck me… I shouldn't… but what was the harm?  
  
I slowly walked over to Serena, not wanting to wake her. The futon was pretty big, and Serena left just enough room for me to slip in next to her.  
  
Serena rolled over and placed an arm around me, still asleep. She smiled lightly but didn't wake up. I slowly placed my arm around her, not wanting to wake her up. I felt another warm wave inside me and smiled. I quickly fell asleep, me and my love in each others arms.  
  
  
  
I know; I don't believe it either, but I'm actually done! I hope you all like it. I know I've promised before I'd update more, but this time I really mean it this time. Also, sorry to have to say this, but I have to refuse any more requests to be in the story for now; I've have more than enough for a few chapters, and if I'm going to give people more than bit parts I have to start turning away people until I can get some of the extras out. Don't despair; in the future I'll be asking again, so those who didn't get in now will be able to get in later. Until next time, check out the Intertwine Dreams website at www.khat-fox.com/~pocket-people. See ya! 


	5. Chapter 5

Well, back to work. Hope everyone enjoyed Chp.4(I sure did). Things are getting even crazier around here. Even though it's August now, there's so much stuff that's happened in the past and present I have a hard time keeping up. I'm always trying to be better about it, so bear with me, please. Anyway, here it goes!  
  
Update(10/26/02): FF.net really screwed this up. If you see a '.' by itself in the middle of a sentence or somewhere else where it doesn't belong, it probably should be an ellipse; you know, 3 dots together, like when somebody gets cut off in text? FF.net seems to turn most of my ellipses into periods for some reason. Sorry. Chapter 5- Mating Week  
  
It was a perfect Friday morning; there was no school today because of parent-teacher conferences, and Mom had gone to mine when they had them last night. Considering my overall average for all my classes was about a 93 and my lowest class average was an 86 in Chemistry, she didn't have anything bad to say. Serena and I were going out to the movies later to see something that hopefully wasn't some cheesy chick flick, and I had finished all my chores (or shoved them off on one of our many house guests), so I was free to enjoy the day off without worr.  
  
"XAVIER CANIN!"  
  
"GAH!" I was eating a bagel as I watched T.V in the living room, waiting for Serena to wake up. Thankfully, Mom yelled at me in-between bites, so I didn't haven't a mouthful of food at the moment. Once I got control of my nerves, I turned to Mom, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking very angry. "What?!"  
  
"I just went into the laundry room."  
  
"And?..."  
  
"I found Chris and Andrea making out on the ironing board!"  
  
"Uggh!" I tried to shake those thoughts out of my head. "Sorry. but how's that my fault?"  
  
"Well, Andrea was in my way!"  
  
"Yeesh, sorry." I still didn't see how that was my fault. Maybe she thought I told them to go there or something. Sighing, I turned back to the T.V. My channel flipping stopped on a commercial  
  
".Safe Egg; keep your eggs safe! Now don't forget everyone; Hybrids and Pokémon just entered their autumn Mating Week, so don't forget your incubators!"  
  
Mating Week? I remembered that from back in the summer; it was the week after I arrived in this world. Furret and Dragoniar were acting really weird; they kept cuddling up with me in bed or sleeping next to the other Pokémon, and Frealigater and Nidorino were being especially friendly with them. It wasn't a huge problem, but it was kinda disturbing. Once I realized what was going on, I gave them all anti-heat medicine. I didn't deal with Phoenix that week, and I was so busy at the Center I didn't see Mom much either. Mating Week affects Hybrids no matter what form they're in.so that meant.  
  
"What did you just say?!" I asked, finally realizing what Mom meant.  
  
"I said Andrea was in my way!"  
  
"You.you mean in the way of your ironing, right?"  
  
"Ironing? What? No; she was in my way of Chri." Suddenly it dawned on her she shouldn't be talking with me about this if she didn't want to reveal her identity. Her face turning beet-red, she mumbled, "yes.ironing.right.ironing." before going back upstairs.  
  
I sat there for a few seconds, trying to absorb what just happened. Maybe I should go check on Serena.  
  
"Serena? Serena!" Serena lived in her old house, but she spent the night a lot. After using up the basement and first floor, the only space left in the house for someone to sleep was the futon in the computer room and the attic. Serena was on the futon, still sleeping.  
  
"Whew." Great; at least that was one less thing to worry about. Suddenly Chris walked through the door to my left. He was clothed, but he walking funny, like he was limping on his back legs. "What happened, Chris?"  
  
"Well, we were on the ironing board.then your Mom walked in and made me."  
  
"O.K.; too much information. Forget I asked." I sighed and tried to shake those images out of my head. I looked over at Serena, wondering if maybe I should get out before she had a chance to do anything.  
  
"Mmm.Xavier.Xavier.that feels good." Serena was moaning in her sleep and squirming around quite a bit. Soon she was panting and gasping.  
  
"O.K., I'm outta here!" I ran downstairs, grabbing my coat off the railing as I ran out the door as fast as humanly possible. I didn't even think to bring some of my Pokémon along, The bus arrived at the stop a few seconds after I did, so I climbed in and shoved my money in the box , taking a seat by myself on the semi-full bus.  
  
O.K., Growlithe boy, I thought to myself, think. Every female Hybrid and Pokémon is currently sex crazy. You haven't evolved far enough yet to be interested in them like that, so you need a place to hide out, preferably the last place you ever expect to see any sex-crazed female and where they wouldn't come looking for you. wait! Perfect!  
  
"Apple Grove Library! Last call for Apple Grove library!" the bus driver yelled.  
  
"Wait!" I got up and stepped off the bus in front of the town library. My Shadow World mother was a librarian, and I got my interest in reading from her. Judging by the many libraries I've been to and the type of guys who hang out there (including myself, mind you), this would be the best place for me to hide out.  
  
After going inside and picking out Harry Potter: Chamber of Secrets and settling down in a chair, I started to read while I pondered what I could do later to get away if Serena wasn't more in control of herself. I still can't believe the number of people out there who think Harry Potter is a little kid only book. If they actually picked it up and read it, they would see that, yes, while it does have magic and wizards and stuff, the things that happen in the book is certainly not just little kid stuff.  
  
After the first hour, I was deeply engrossed in the book. So much so, that when the yellow fur covered thing waved in front of my face, I just brushed it aside, thinking it was some kind of bug(after everything else that had been happening, a yellow furry thing in my face seemed almost normal). I repeated the same procedure the second time it happened. By the third time, though, I was really starting to get annoyed. Looking up, I saw who the yellow furry thing belonged to.  
  
"About time, Xavier! I come back after moving away to Florida, and you're more interested in a book you've read probably a million times!"  
  
Now, the fact that this creature speaking to me was female alone should've been enough to bring me to a whimper heap. The facts that she was beautiful, intelligent, and that I knew her as well as I knew myself (and vice-versa) just added to my stupor.oh, and then there was the tiny fact I CREATED HER!  
  
"Ra.Rai.Raichel?!" I finally managed to get to my feet, knocking the book on the floor. "Wha-What are you doing here?!"  
  
"I told you, Xavier; I came back from Florida. We moved down there for Dad's job, but we we're all miserable. No one liked it, so we moved back here. We even got our old house back."  
  
Coming back from Florida wasn't the answer I was looking for; I was hoping for something along the lines of why she existed here, but I just nodded and tried not to pass out, reminding myself to keep my cover going.  
  
"Oh." While I struggled to think of something else to say, I looked over the girl who started out as a wild thought in my head and ended up being someone I admired and more. If everything still held true, Raichel Voltor was barely a month younger than me. She was about 5'10" with a medium build; maybe 140 or 150 pounds(I'm bad at guessing weight; the best I can be sure of is that she's not fat, but not real skinny, either). She had curly blond hair that went down just past her shoulders, and beautiful hazel eyes that are hard to resist.  
  
Although she has a human-like body and face, her being a Raichu Hybrid makes for some obvious differences between her and humans (it's also the reason for the nickname, Rai) . Her ears are that of a Raichu, poking well out of her hair. Fur covers her in the pattern of a Raichu as well. The long black tail with the lightning bolt tip waved around behind her, and I suddenly realized that's what was in my face before. Finally, there were the large Raichu feet; she wore no shoes because they're so big, but she doesn't seem to mind that any.  
  
"I.I've missed you Rai." I finally managed to stammer.  
  
"Xavier.I've missed you too. a lot." Rai looked down at her feet, then looked back up. "Xavier.remember back before I left, when we said how much we cared for each other.I want that back, Xavier.and maybe more."  
  
"Rai.I-I do too." Rai smiled and sighed happily.  
  
"Thank you, Xavier." Rai looked up at a nearby clock quickly, then back to me. "Sorry, I have to get home so I can help unpack after I get a book and say hi to a few more people. I'm busy tonight, but are you free tomorrow night?" I nodded. She smiled and picked up the book I'd dropped. "Do you mind if."  
  
"No; go ahead. I don't mind at all."  
  
"Thanks." Rai smiled and kissed me lightly on the cheek. It was just a little kiss, but she could've shocked me with 10,000 volts and it would've had the same effect. She checked out the book and left, but I didn't move for at least a good two minutes after we left. Feeling slowly returned to my legs, but all I could do was collapse back into the chair. She was real.my dream girl was real.  
  
When I could move steadily, I got up and started walking toward the Center to pick up anti-heat meds for my Pokémon and the Hybrid females in the house, just in case. As I walked, I thought long and hard on my memories of Rai and how she came to be.  
  
It all started last year (2000), about September. I'd explored the idea of Hybrids before, but it wasn't till then that I sat down and tried to write a story about them. It had what I thought was a perfect plot; a teenager and his mother we're a bounty hunting team(Oddly, that similarity between my story and what's happening didn't even hit me till at least a month after I came here) in the Pokémon world. They we're Hybrids, but unique even for Hybrids. They could shift between a human and Hybrid form, something that no other Hybrid could do(all Hybrids were normally form locked in that story). I'd started writing, but after a while I realized I lacked something; specifically a friend for my character. I didn't want to use any of my real friends; I needed something different. What I wasn't sure, but it had to be special. I struggled for days to come up with the right character, but nothing seemed right.  
  
Finally it hit me one night in a dream. I was woken up by my characters mother, who told me Raichel was here. Confused but curious, I let the dream play out. I threw on some clothes and headed downstairs. That's when I first met Raichel, and I knew at that moment she was perfect for my story.  
  
The next morning I typed non-stop for hours. In a matter of days, I'd cranked out the first chapter(if only I had that kind of ethic and time now.). Every night when I was sleeping, I dreamed about Rai and me doing stuff together. After a while, I started to think of her as my first girlfriend. The only dreams I ever remembered always involved her, and it just felt great when I was with her.well, it felt like I was.kinda falling in love with her.  
  
Anyway, the more I stayed with Rai, the more I liked her. Serena and mine's relationship wasn't very serious yet (or at least I didn't think so). When I first showed her my story, she even drew a sketch of Rai for me. I never really thought about putting it online, figuring it would be too hard to get a site to put it on and no one would be interested in it except for weirdoes like me and Serena. After that, I stopped writing for a while, but then I started up again with New Beginning. I always thought I might add Rai as a later character, but I wanted to keep her to myself.  
  
When I first came here, the whole shock of the situation kept me from thinking too much about Rai, but when things settled down a bit, I started to toy around with the idea of meeting up with Rai. The odds seemed so farfetched, though, I'd never actually expected to meet her. When Serena and mines relationship got serious, I kinda put Rai aside, but even with Serena I still thought fondly of Rai every now and then. Now, she was here.my literal dream girl, here.  
  
WHAM!  
  
"OW!" I was shaken from my thoughts when I walked into the Center doors. Normally they open automatically; when they didn't this time I smashed my face on them. Muttering some curses, I rubbed my sore nose before pulling them apart myself. "Joy! What's up with the doors?!"  
  
"Xavier! Help!"  
  
"Joy?! What's wrong?!" I raced into the Pokémon bedroom, where Pokémon with just minor injuries or who stayed overnight for checkups sleep. Joy was struggling hard to keep a pair of Persians away from each other. Claws and limbs were flailing everywhere, and there was a lot of yowls and hisses coming from the unhappy cats.  
  
"I'm trying to keep these two apart from each other, but they're not happy about that. Do something!"  
  
"Oh." Thinking as fast as I could, I ran off to the Poké Ball storage room. Thankfully, we label each ball by Pokémon, so it's easy to find the right one. There were only two Persian Poké Balls, so I grabbed them and rushed back to Joy. "Persians, return!" Both balls shot red beams of light, surrounding the Pokémon before they were sucked in. I hate the balls; they're just little prisons. Still, they do have their uses.  
  
"Thank you." Joy blew on some small cuts on her arms. "Mating Week in action."  
  
"Ah, that's nothing compared to what my cat was like. She did worse when she wanted to be fed an hour early."  
  
"Your cat? Xavier, you never told me you had a Meowth or Persian."  
  
"Meowth? Oh, no! I meant my other.um, never mind." Ah yes; my Shadow World cat, Dusty.I swear, if that cat wasn't Satan, she was at least a very loyal servant to him. When she wanted something, she wanted it now or she'd make you sorry you didn't move as fast as humanly possible to get it.  
  
"Anyway, I wanted to stop by and get some Mating Week meds for everyone. My life's like a soap opera already; I don't want it added to by people getting pregnant and no one knowing who the father is because they were all in a sex-crazed frenzy."  
  
"I could understand that, but all the Hybrids in your house besides Andrea already stopped by and picked some up. Remember that Amber picked up that special experimental heat medication?"  
  
"Right." I nodded, remembering Amber saying something about that. She's been getting a little upset that she's been with us so long and hasn't paid anything, so she was going to volunteer to test some new anti- heat meds to make some money. "What about Mom? Did she stop by?"  
  
"Yes, her too. In fact, she got the strongest version you can get without a prescription by a doctor."  
  
"You sure about that? She sure wasn't acting like she took her medicine this morning."  
  
"Really? Well, I know she bought it; whether she took it or not is a different matter."  
  
"I trust you; just not sure I can trust."  
  
BRING! BRING!  
  
"Phoenix!" I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket, looked around quickly, then tossed it to Joy. "Joy! Answer it!"  
  
"Me?!"  
  
"Yes! I can fake my human voice in Hybrid form, but I can't fake my Hybrid voice in human form!"  
  
"O.K!" Joy turned on the phone and answered. "Hello Phoenix.it's Joy.why am I answering Fire Storm's phone?..." Joy looked over nervously at me, placing her hand over the mouth piece.  
  
"Geez.say I.left it up here when I went down to the basement!"  
  
"He's downstairs; he left it in his jacket up here." There was a long pause after that. "What? Are you sure about that?...no, no; I trust you.Xavier?" I quickly shook my head. "No, he's not here; he just left actually...O.K; I'll let him know. Bye." Joy handed me my phone, sighing.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Xavier.Phoenix wants to go out hunting; now."  
  
"Now?! Is she nuts?!"  
  
"I don't know; she sounded normal enough over the phone, and I told you she already stopped by and picked up meds."  
  
"Are you really sure? She sure wasn't acting like she took it this morning."  
  
"Like I said before, I know she bought it; whether she actually took it is something else."  
  
"I guess so." I shook my head and started off toward the basement. I started shifting forms on the way down the stairs, removing and tossing my shirt to the side as it started to grow tight on me. My jeans were fine; I always wear them a little big so I don't have to be in the full fur when I shift.  
  
As I passed by a mirror in the locker room, I studied the canine face I'd become all too familiar with these past few months. After a few moments of mirror gazing, I sighed and got ready for a quick shower.  
  
Once I'd gotten in and lathered up my fur with shampoo, I started to think about what my life had turned into in the last few months. Placing a hand against the wall of the shower and just feeling the water running through my fur, I started to take account of my new life.  
  
The first thing that immediately crossed my mind was my ability to transform. The first few times it was really cool, going from human to Hybrid or Hybrid to Pokémon. The physical benefits of my Hybrid self alone were cool; the greatly increased strength, the added height, and the odd yet overall cool ability to spit fire make my Hybrid self a hell of a lot better than my human self(not to mention I always have a nice fur coat when it gets cold, if being a fire-type Hybrid wasn't enough.) The rush of power and adrenaline I feel when I finish changing is perhaps the greatest feeling I've ever experienced. It's not just the physical benefits; just being a Hybrid itself is cool. I mean, being able to do something that so few others can do, having all these abilities and powers; it's great.  
  
Oh yeah, I thought as a slow smile curled up on my muzzle; can't forget the mental benefits. Not that I'm super-smart or anything, but.I concentrated for a few seconds on the main desk in the center. I imagined the top of it suddenly catching fire, covering the whole desk in a blazing fireball. Soon I could hear Joy yelp and run around like she had so many times before, looking for the fire extinguisher. As soon as I heard her grab it, I imagined the fire suddenly stopping altogether, having done no damage to the desk. When Joy hauled the fire extinguisher to the desk and realized what happened, I heard her calling out my name and yelling about how I scared the crap out of her.  
  
In case you didn't get that, turns out besides creating fire in a sac in my body, I can also create it with my mind. Pyro-kinesis, it's called. Basically, I can create fire (or the illusion of it) and control it, either by making it bigger, smaller, burn hotter or burn so cold it's cool to the touch. Joy hates it because sometimes I do stuff like what I just did with the desk to freak her out. I have limits, though. If a fire is too big I can't control it; right now I have to struggle a bit to control a large bonfire. To form a fire, I have to either be looking at the place I want to catch fire or know it really well. I could handle the desk at the Center since I see it at least 3 or 4 days a week, but I can't cause some random persons clothes catch fire unless I was looking at them. Even still, I guess there's a limit on how far away I can be when I cause something to burn. I haven't tested it out yet, but that just makes sense that I can't go halfway around the world and still expect a fire to be going when I come back.  
  
Compared to now, I have life better in a lot of ways than I did in the Shadow World. I've got tons of friends, enough money to pay for most any college thanks to my bounty hunting, a girlfriend, Pokémon friends, and a mother who treats me more as an equal than my old mother ever did. True; I don't have a father here, but my old man in the Shadow World was usually working his butt off for the family, so I'm used to not having a male authority figure around a lot. I don't hate him for working, and we did have some good times; I just wish there was more of them.  
  
Now there's the middle of the road when it comes to this new world. Bounty hunting is exciting, but it can be dangerous at times. I usually come out with only a few cuts, scrapes and the occasional bullet wound that grazed across my shoulder, yeah, but sometimes when I'm cowering behind an obstacle while lightning and water and whatnot pound it, waiting for a break in the attack to shoot myself, it's kinda scary. Sure; sometimes it easy, like the guy who me and Phoenix were looking for just walked right toward us on the street. He wasn't expecting us, nor the clothesline I hit him across the face with to knock him down, but it's rarely that easy.  
  
Ah; can't forget Phoenix. That first night I was here was a rare event, with all the licking and nuzzling.that never happens now, especially when she realized how much it repulsed me. Still, just knowing that deep down inside, she thinks she loves me makes it hard to be her partner. I guess that the fact she's loves only me should mean something slightly good; at least she isn't willing to spread her legs for any guy who makes a pass at her. In fact, I once read in her diary (I know I shouldn't do that, but I have to.) that she sometimes feels her body is a curse. She knows she's good looking, but she has to put up with all these jerks who just want to mate her because of how she looks, and the one guy she wouldn't mind hearing nice things about herself from (me) hardly says a word. Sometimes I'm tempted to say something just to make her feel good, but I don't want her to get the wrong idea either. A lot of times when I think about this, I end with, "Why me? Why?"  
  
When we're out working or relaxing, though, she's actually quite a person to be with. She's a crack shot, fast thinker, and though it may not show, she's got a will of steel.not to mention a pair of steel fists to back her up. When she punches you, you go down and stay down. Once while we we're getting dinner at a pub, some human male who reeked of alcohol kept making passes at her. She mostly ignored him, until he made the mistake of grabbing one of her breasts. Next thing I knew, he was sprawled out on the floor with a mouthful of blood and three teeth lying next to him. Phoenix glared angrily at him for a few seconds while he laid there, then went back to eating as if nothing happened. When she isn't arresting criminals or punching drunks, she's a smart, very social woman. We talk about all sorts of things; sports, news, weather; lots of stuff. She also loves video games, in both human and Hybrid forms. I was shocked to find out that Mom actually enjoys Magic as much as I do, but she's also always willing to try a new game I buy, so I always have someone to play when there's nothing else to do. As Phoenix, we're always going to arcades after a long days work and playing for a few hours. We play everything, but she loves light- gun games, which she says are great for practice with our job. I have to agree; that's where I got all my skills as a bounty hunter. Overall, with Mom and Phoenix, I think the pros and cons balance each other out.  
  
Now we get to the bad stuff. With all the stuff going on, it seems like I never have time to myself. Between Pokémon training and caring, working at the Center, working with Phoenix, talking with friends.it seems like I never have time to do anything for me. Today was a rare occurrence. It was something that probably wasn't going to happen again for a while. Before I had way too much free time; now it seems like the only time I have to myself is when I sleep and when I'm in the shower. Then there's the fact that I've come closer to serious injury or death in the past few months than I did during my whole life in the Shadow World. The worst I've ever been hurt required an overnight stay at a hospital when I took a bullet in the chest, but still, watching the blood leaking out of your body and feeling the strong pain that comes from having part of your body filled with hot lead was scary. If it wasn't for Joy covering for me and the fact that I heal extremely fast, even for Hybrids, I'd have had real trouble with Mom.  
  
I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't spend all day in the shower; Phoenix was waiting for me.  
  
BRING! BRING!  
  
"Geez!" I'd barely stepped out of the shower when my phone started ringing again. Throwing a towel around my waist, I rushed out and grabbed the phone, turning it on. "Hello, Phoenix."  
  
"Phoenix? No, Fire Storm; it's Raichel."  
  
"Raichel?! Didn't we just talk?"  
  
"What? No; I just talked with a few of my friends. I just came back from Florida, and I'm saying hi to all my friends."  
  
"Oh.right." I didn't want to tell her she was going nuts; people tend to get mad when you do that. "It's.nice to hear from you again."  
  
"Same here.Fire Storm, I.I thought about you a lot when I was away."  
  
"You did?"  
  
"Yes.listen; are you doing anything later in the week?"  
  
"Later? Uh.I'm not sure."  
  
"That's O.K; call me back later. I'm about to go visit my friend's; I need to drop something off there. Call my house in about an hour if you decide."  
  
"Alright.who's the friend?"  
  
"His name's Xavier.shoot; gotta go. Call me!"  
  
"Xavier? Wait; that's."  
  
CLICK!  
  
".me." I looked at the phone, confused. How could Rai forget she just talked to me? She mentioned my human self's name, but acted like we hadn't spoken before...wait a minute.  
  
"SHIT!" She was going over to the house! Phoenix was waiting for me there; if Rai saw her, it'd blow her cover and maybe mine as well! I tried to call Rai back, but no one picked up her phone. Hastily throwing on the gray, spandex like material which I now know is elemental body armor, then my regular clothes, I tossed a few random weapons into a backpack and bolted for the garage. My mind raced for answers as I opened the garage door, made an impressive leap into the driver seat and started the engine, but nothing I thought of made much sense. No time to worry about it now; I had to get to the house, fast!  
  
Doing about 70 the whole way, I'd somehow managed not to cause an accident or get pulled over by a cop, and made it to the house in under 10 minutes. Everything looked normal as I bought the car to a screeching halt. I dashed inside, expecting the worst.  
  
"Hello?..." No one was around. It was quiet.too quiet. There wasn't a noise in the house. No one was watching T.V or on the computer, no Pokémon or kids running around.it was dead silent. I kept my ears open as I slowly crept in, not sure what to expect now.  
  
"Phoenix? Rai? Chris? Rick? Anybody?" No one answered. I checked all the rooms on the first floor; nothing.  
  
"Fire Storm.help me."  
  
"Phoenix? Where are you?!" Her voice sounded weak; I could barely hear her.  
  
"Upstairs..."  
  
I ran up the stairs, expecting to find her in her room. Instead, I found her in my room, sitting on the edge of my bed. Her back was to me, but it looked like she was holding something.  
  
"Phoenix? What's wrong?" I went into my room, noticing none of my Pokémon friends were around.  
  
"Fire Storm.I need help."  
  
"Why? What's wrong?" I said, slowly sitting next to her. She appeared to be holding a photo of some sort, but it was hard to get a good look at it while she was holding it against her stomach.  
  
"It's been almost 16 years since I've been truly intimate with anyone.every time Mating Week comes around, it just reminds me how I have no one to go to; no mate or lover. sure; I miss the sex, but that's beyond the point. I just want someone to love; someone to hold and hold me, but I have no one.no one to go to. All I have is my son, and I can't love him like I would love another adult."  
  
Wanna bet?, I thought.  
  
"Phoenix, you're a wonderful person. You'll find the right person for you; I'm sure of it."  
  
"I've been telling myself that for years." she said with a sigh. "At first, I hoped my husband would come back to me, but it's been too long now. If he was coming back, he would have by now. I've tried to find someone to replace him, but no one can totally replace him. It hurts, but that's not what hurts worst."  
  
"What does?"  
  
"Xavier.he's had to grow up without his father. All these other boys always have their father to teach them how to play baseball or ride a bike; he's never had that. It's always just been me, and there's just some things I can't do for him as a mother; he needs his father too."  
  
"Oh." Honestly, I never worried much about my Dad here. I tried asking Mom in the beginning, but she either acts like she doesn't hear me or changes the subject. Even as Fire Storm she won't tell me. I have a lot more important things to worry about now, so I haven't bothered thinking about it much. "Xavier's a good son; I'm sure he's managed to get along just fine with your help."  
  
"Maybe." Curiously, I took a sniff of the air. I could tell easily Phoenix hadn't taken her medicine. Thankfully I still haven't fully evolved, so it had no affect on me.  
  
"Phoenix?...Where is everyone?"  
  
"They're in the basement."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I put them down there; tied them up or returned them to their Poké Balls."  
  
"What!? Why on God's green Earth would you do that?!"  
  
"I had to keep them out of the way.prove to myself that I can control myself.couldn't let them help."  
  
"Phoenix?..." She held her head in her hands, and she was sweating profusely. I slowly got up and started to back away, not sure what was going on.  
  
"Fi-Fire Storm.it's getting too strong.can't fight it."  
  
"Fight what?"  
  
"T-The urges.they're so strong.... I don't want to mate, but I can't resist."  
  
"Phoenix, you have to! You're stronger than that!"  
  
"No. you don't understand; I-I can't."  
  
Shit! I had to find her medicine; NOW! I ran as fast as my legs would let me across the hall to Mom's room, looking around quickly. No; they weren't here. I tossed open the door to her bathroom right off of the bedroom, the door slamming against the wall as I heaved it open and searched desperately. There; on the sink! I grabbed the blue bottle and dashed back to Phoenix, opening the bottle with my teeth and pouring out two pills.  
  
"Here; take these; now!" I ordered, practically shoving the pills in her face. She slowly, very slowly took them and popped them into her muzzle. I sighed with relief; crisis adverted.  
  
"Fi-Fire Storm; the medicine.it's not working."  
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"The urges are as strong as ever; can't fight."  
  
"Phoenix, you have to fight! You can control those urges!"  
  
"I-I can't. I'm so so-sorry."  
  
Suddenly Phoenix tackled me, pinning my shoulders to the ground with her hands. I struggled to get free, but she's strong as it is, and in her current lust filled state seemed to crank her strength up even more. It seemed like no matter how hard I struggled, she kept me on the ground.  
  
"I'm sorry; I don't want this.my mind keeps saying, "No!" but my body keeps saying, "Yes!".I'm sorry; please don't think worse of me for this."  
  
"Phoenix, you can't do this! Please!" I won't lie to you; I was scared shitless at this point. If I let Phoenix mate me now, I'd never be able to look at her or myself the same way ever again. My mind raced as I tried to think of something, anything to stop her. ( I just had to change this from the last one about the race car. I wrote it after that Golem punched me in the head, so that might explain my thought process or lack thereof then.)  
  
"Phoenix; please." I kept pulling away from her licks and nuzzles, struggling against her as much as I could. It was clear she really didn't want to do this, but her instincts must've been incredibly powerful to shrug off that medication. "You can't."  
  
"I don't want to; I really don't." Tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes. Her chest was pressed against mine, and her arms were slowly working their way around me, pinning my arms to the side of my body. I flailed and kicked wildly, but I couldn't get my legs around to kick her very well, and she had me pinned so tight I could barely move at all.  
  
"Phoenix, no! Don't do this!." No one could help me, and the bear hug she had on me kept me from moving my arms. I'd taken a little karate when I was younger, and I knew how to get out of a bear hug, but I always practiced it standing up, not lying on my back. This position seemed familiar though; when did I get into this situation before?... Wait! Duh!  
  
"I'm sorry, Phoenix, but I gotta do this!" I took a deep breath, then shot an Ember out of my muzzle right into Phoenix's face.  
  
"Aggh!" It shouldn't have hurt her too much, being a fire type herself, but the blast was enough to knock her back and let go of me. I jumped to my feet, moving faster than I'd ever moved before. I ran to the doors, locking the one that led directly to the hallway with my fist and busting off the doorknob, then went through the other door that led into the bathroom, slamming it shut and locking it behind me.  
  
I knew I had a little time, but not much. I dashed down the stairs and was halfway out the main door when I remembered Phoenix said she'd tied up everyone downstairs.  
  
"Geez, I'd better hurry." I ran to the kitchen and was halfway to the basement door when.  
  
WHAM!  
  
"Holy!..." The door just flew off it's hinges and hit the wall across from it, splintering into pieces when it hit. Bits of wood flew by and got caught in my fur. "What the fuck!?..."  
  
Rick poked his head out, looking around. When he saw me, he gave a little wave. "Hello."  
  
"What the hell are you doing?! You almost killed me!" I yelled.  
  
"I did? Sorry, but your Mom tied me up and locked me down there. I just wanted to get out."  
  
"Locked you down there?!." I dug through the remains of the door and found what was left of the knob, showing it to him "That door doesn't lock, dummy!" I whacked him lightly in the head. "Pay attention next time!"  
  
"Hey! I said I was sorry, O.K?"  
  
"Right, right.did you get the others?"  
  
"Others? I could barely make out the stairs; I didn't look for anyone else."  
  
"Man." I flicked on the light switch by the top of the stairs and went downstairs. Kicking aside a piece of rope laying on the ground, I found a good 15 or 20 Pokéballs lying on the ground by the old piano. I told Rick to let them out while I looked for the others. There were two other rooms down here and a third door that led to the garage. Going to one of the rooms, I found Tyger, Amber, Chris, Andrea, Serena and Bob tied up on the ground. Serena and Amber were moving, but everyone else was lying still. I untied them, and they helped me get the others free. Everyone else was fine; they were out cold and probably have a headache when they came to, but they were all breathing and didn't look seriously hurt.  
  
"Xavier? Why'd Phoenix do this to us?" Serena asked after she'd freed Bob.  
  
"She's.not acting like herself. She hasn't taken her meds, and she isn't thinking straight. I locked her in my room, but I'm not sure how long that will last."  
  
"But.she took her medicine. I watched her."  
  
"You saw her take it?" She nodded. "Wow.she shrugged off two doses of the stuff? Damn." I looked over at Amber. She looked like somebody close to her just died; she wasn't crying, but she had a face that made you think she was really depressed. "Amber? You O.K?"  
  
"Wha? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I've just felt like crud since I took that medicine. I was about to call the number on the bottle when Phoenix jumped me."  
  
"Wow; that must be some powerful stuff... Still, you're right. You should call."  
  
"Here." She pulled a bottle out of her pocket. "Would you mind doing it for me?"  
  
"Sure, as soon as I get everyo." I took a look at the bottle. It looked exactly like Phoenix's.wait a minute.  
  
"That explains it!"  
  
"What? What explains what?" Serena asked.  
  
"These aren't Amber's pills; these are Phoenix's! You guys probably switched the bottles sometime and never knew it." I showed them the label. In very small type was written "Phoenix Canin".  
  
"Oh.so that's why I feel so lousy." Amber mumbled.  
  
"Yeah; this is a serious overdose for you. Might explain why your meds had no effect on Phoenix. Either you're pills are really weak, or you're in the control group and have sugar pills."  
  
Amber nodded in agreement while I checked around the rest of the basement for anyone else. There was no one else in plain sight, so I checked the other room.  
  
"Rai!...and somebody." Rai was out cold on the floor, but what was just as interesting was the Jolteon Hybrid next to her. He seemed close to my age, give or take a year or two, and looked a little under six feet tall. He wore a black jacket and black jeans, and when I rolled him over I saw he also wore a white shirt under the jacket. He had normal human hair, but it looked almost white and the bangs were spiky. Jolteon spokes poked out all over his body, some of them sticking out of his clothes while others were under them, making him look bigger than he was. A silver pendant that was shaped like a lightning bolt hung around his neck, partially lying on the floor. For some reason, there was also a metal staff lying close by him. I've never seen it before, so I guessed he bought it with him.who ever he was.  
  
"Fire Storm? What's going on?" Amber rushed in and saw the two figures on the floor. "Um.Fire Storm? Do you know those people?"  
  
"I know the girl, but the Jolteon's new to me." I didn't think he was one of my online buddies looking for a place to stay. Of all of them, none of them mentioned being a Jolteon Hybrid.  
  
"Xavier? What is it?" Serena came in as well. She stopped when she saw Raichel. "Xavier.t-that's Raichel."  
  
"I know, Serena, I know." She would know; although the sketch Serena did of Rai had no color, it looked exactly like Rai did in terms of body shape, hair style and the like.  
  
Serena went over and examined the electric Hybrids while Amber and I tried to sort out what was going on with the Pokémon. I asked most of them to go upstairs and make sure Phoenix didn't get out, and to stop but not hurt her if she did. Most went, but a few stayed to make sure their trainers were O.K, and I kept Houndor with me; he was a nervous wreck after being in the ball. Dragoniar offered to stay and help me with him.  
  
"F-Fire Storm.P-Phoenix put me in a ball.it was so lonely and scary." Houndor whimpered and curled into a ball. Dragoniar curled around him, whispering to him soothingly.  
  
"It's O.K, Houndor. Phoenix wasn't feeling well; she didn't mean to do that. you're safe now, I promise." Dragoniar's great with Houndor. When I'm not around or Houndor just isn't responding to me, she does a great job calming him down.  
  
"Yeah, Houndor; Phoenix is sick. Once she takes her medicine, she'll be normal again, and she'll apologize for putting you in the ball. In fact, she'll probably be so sad about what she did, she'll give you anything you want." I said, smiling as Houndor eyes lit up.  
  
"A-Anything?" Houndor said with a sniff. "Even ice cream?"  
  
"Yup; even your favorite ice cream." Houndor loves ice cream. Seems a little ironic to me; a fire type loving ice cream, but Houndor is full of irony.  
  
"O-O.K.thanks F-Fire Storm." Houndor smiled and sniffed again. I left Dragoniar with him and went back to check on the others.  
  
"Xavier? Raichel's starting to wake up." Serena informed me. Rai, indeed, was starting to sit up.  
  
"Ow." Rai sat up and rubbed a part of her head. "Anybody get the number of that truck that hit me?..."  
  
"You O.K., Raichel?" I asked, knelling down to her.  
  
"Alright? Fire Storm! Geez!" Rai placed a hand over her heart. "You surprised me."  
  
"Sorry.how are you feeling?"  
  
"Hurt. I've got a lump on my head the size of my fist, and.ah!" Rai looked at her leg, which had a long, shallow cut on it. "Don't know when this happened, but it stings."  
  
"Ow." I took a look at the wound. "Might have happened when Phoenix carried you down the stairs."  
  
"Yes.that's another thing. What the hell is Phoenix doing in this house? This is my friends house.and come to think of it, why are you here, Fire Storm? What's going on?!"  
  
"It's.a long story, Rai."  
  
"Well, you've got plenty of time to tell it to me.ow!" Rai rubbed her head again. "Mind if I get some aspirin or a Potion or something? This really stings."  
  
"Sure." I looked to Serena and Amber. "Guys? Mind watching after everyone while I take her upstairs?"  
  
"O.K." Amber said. Serena nodded in agreement, but something was wrong. She looked really worried about something. ah, don't think about it too much, I told myself. She's probably just worried about Phoenix.  
  
Rai went upstairs and I followed close behind her, making sure she was O.K. She went up the stairs slowly and seemed to be in a little pain, but she seemed able to walk fine enough to make it up the stairs on her own.  
  
"Here Rai; sit on the couch. I'll get you some medicine." Rai nodded and went into the living room. As I got Rai some water, I heard a flushing toilet. When I went into the living room, Rick was just coming out of the bathroom. "Hey Rick; make yourself useful and get her some aspirin?"  
  
"Oh." Rick looked over at Rai, who smiled at him. "Sure." He went back into the bathroom while I bought the glass of water to Rai.  
  
"Here; you can use this to wash the aspirin down." I offered, placing it on the end table next to Rai.  
  
"Thanks. Fire Storm. it might just be the blow to the head, but I'm a little confused. What's going on?"  
  
"Well. I. that is to say." I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how much Rai knew and didn't know. I'd pieced together that she didn't realize Fire Storm and Xavier were one in the same, but she knew them both. It'd be hell to explain what was going on without knowing what was O.K to tell her.  
  
"Fire Storm!" Nidorino came running down the stairs in a hurry. "Your Mom's getting kinda wild up there. She's banging on the door, and the doors are starting to break. Frealigater said he could freeze the doors so she won't get out, but I wasn."  
  
"Wait.Nidorino? Did you just say, 'Mom?'"  
  
"Raichel?!" Nidorino looked around me and let out an audible gulp. He seemed to think he screwed something up. "I.didn't see you."  
  
"Nidorino, tell me the truth. Did you just say Mom?"  
  
"Um.no." he said weakly. I looked at Rai, then at Nidorino and back at Rai again. Did he just?...  
  
"Wait a minute." Rai seemed to have just figured out something. "Xavier? Is that you?"  
  
"Um.yeah, it's me." I said with a weak laugh. "Hey."  
  
"Xavier. and Fire Storm. after all this time, you were the same person?" Rai was in a state of shock. "Oh my God."  
  
"Um.hello?" I totally forgot about Rick. He walked over to Rai with some aspirin in his hand. "Here you go."  
  
"Huh? Oh; thank you." Rai managed to take the aspirin, but that was the last thing on her mind. She put them down on the end table next to the water.  
  
"Uh.Fire Storm? What's going on?" Rick asked.  
  
"Rick.this is kinda private. Do you mind?"  
  
"No; it's O.K. I'll go help the others." Rick went back down to the basement, leaving me, Rai and Nidorino alone again.  
  
"Uh, Fire Storm, about the doors." Nidorino started to say.  
  
"Go ahead; freeze them. Just don't let her out until I'm gone, O.K?" He nodded and quickly ran back upstairs.  
  
"Rai. I guess I have a lot to explain."  
  
"Yeah. you do." Rai glanced over at the cable box, then did a double take. "What?! Man, I have to get going!"  
  
"What?! Now?!" I glanced at the clock on the box. It read about 10 minutes past noon.  
  
"I told my parents I'd be home by noon sharp, and you know how paranoid they are about me!"  
  
"Yeah. um, I could drive you home. It'd be a lot faster."  
  
"Drive? Sure, that'd be a big help. We'll talk on the way, O.K?"  
  
"Sure; let's get you home." Rai hobbled outside to the car. I followed her out to the car where I jumped into the drivers seat. Rai slowly opened the door and sat in the passenger side, looking worried and confused.  
  
"Xavi... I mean Fire Storm. why?"  
  
"Why what?" I asked as I started the car.  
  
"Why didn't you ever tell me about being a Hybrid. or being a bounty hunter. or having your Mom as a partner. hell; why didn't you tell me anything?"  
  
"I. thought it'd be safer if you didn't know. Something could've happened to you knew who I was." That was the excuse I was saving for Phoenix when I eventually tell her that I'm really her kid, but it's kinda a universal excuse for me anyway. All I usually have to do is change a few words. Besides, it made sense from what little I could tell about the whole situation.  
  
"Oh." Rai went silent for a moment before speaking up again. "You were afraid someone might find out about our friendship and use it to try and blackmail you?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
"I see.but what about Phoenix? How could she not know after all this time what you've been doing? I mean, she is your mother."  
  
"Well, I work late at the Center a lot, and Joy helps to cover for me. She knows, but doesn't say anything to Phoenix."  
  
"O.K., but wh." Rai noticed my confusion when we're at the end of my road. I had no clue where her house was, so I had no idea which was to turn or what roads to take. "Fire Storm? Is something wrong?"  
  
"Um. I'm sorry Rai, but it's been so long, I've totally forgot where you live."  
  
"So long? I've been gone barely four months, Fire Storm!"  
  
Four months? I did the math in my head. That meant she would've left.early July?! That meant she left about a week, maybe days before I came here!  
  
"It's only been four months? It.seemed a lot longer than that without you here, Rai."  
  
"Really? Oh." Rai had a embarrassed smile on her face, and I'm sure she was blushing under her fur. "Turn left here."  
  
"That's right." I made the turn, not sure what to say. I mean, what the hell could I say to her? Most people only meet their perfect lover in their dreams, but mine was sitting in the seat right next to me! The feelings I felt for her, the things we did in the Shadow World, the opportunity I had now. even if I knew what to say, I don't think it'd come out in a coherent sentence.  
  
"So.things were pretty bad in Florida, huh?" I asked, trying to get the conversation to go anywhere.  
  
"Oh yeah. The stupid internet connection never worked, so I couldn't do anything online or chat with any of my friends, the other kids down there were either stuck up, 'cool' kids or creepy kids that just made you want to get as far away from them as possible. It was too hot down there too; I'm used to the cooler weather up here. Besides, I'm warm enough with my fur; I don't need the blazing hot sun warming me up."  
  
"Oh yeah; I went down there with the Boy Scouts once for a week. When we finally got back, the tops of my ears were burnt black!"  
  
Rai nodded. "You told me about that.anyway, we were all miserable, so Dad had his job transfer him back here. He's too valuable for them to lose, so they had to.turn right here."  
  
I nodded and turned. About halfway up the road, Rai asked me to pull over. I did, but wasn't sure why.  
  
"What's up, Rai?"  
  
"I'd better walk the rest of the way. If my parents see you, they'll probably call the police."  
  
"Police?! Why?!"  
  
"Oh, you know that my Mom and Dad are paranoid of Hybrids; especially you. They think that you're a danger to me because of that incident a while ago when you saved me from that guy who took me hostage."  
  
I was confused. "Wait.if I saved you, why do they think I'm a danger to you?"  
  
"Because when you got me away from him and were trying to get me someplace safe, the guy you were trying to arrest shot at us. He nicked my tail, and that's all my parents needed to hear. They didn't care about how you almost got shot trying to help me; they just don't want you near me again."  
  
"I.see." I was confused, but Rai said her parents were paranoid of Hybrids. Her parents were human themselves, and Rai had been born human, but later became a Hybrid. I'd tell you how, but.well, that can wait till later.  
  
Rai opened the door and stepped out of the car. She drew a sharp breath and winced when her leg hit the ground.  
  
"Ow! Almost forgot about my leg."  
  
"Hold on a sec, Rai." I went to the trunk and pulled out the first aid kit, grabbing a Super Potion. I offered it to her as she sat on the hood of the car.  
  
"Thank you." She took it and rolled up her slashed pant leg before spraying the Potion on the wound. She used her free hand to spread her hair apart a little before spraying the rest on the bump on her head.  
  
"I'll take that." Rai handed back the empty bottle while I got out a roll of bandages. "Want to wrap up that leg wound so it doesn't get infected?"  
  
"Good idea, but do you mind doing it for me? It'd be hard for me to do it properly by myself."  
  
"Oh; O.K." Be cool, I reminded myself. She's just asking you to do it because you'd do a better job than her. Don't think about the fact that Serena asked you to do the same thing last month shortly before she declared her love for you.oops. Well, too late for that now.  
  
I knelt down in front of Rai, slowly wrapping the white cloth around her leg. She held up her pant leg so it didn't get in the way. My heart was beating like a drum in my chest as I did my best to keep my cool. Rai seemed to be reacting normally as I taped the bandages into place.  
  
"Thanks, Fire Storm." I slowly stood up and brushed some dirt off my fur, then put the bandages away.  
  
"Think you'll be alright?" I asked.  
  
"I'll get to the house fine; I'm just worried about having to explain this to Mom and Dad. I don't want to get you in trouble, but it'll be hard to explain why my leg is all wrapped up like this."  
  
"Yeah." I tried to think of a good explanation for the cut. "Tell them it got hurt when you cut yourself on a rock. Hopefully they won't ask for the details."  
  
"Sounds kinda lame.but it's the best I can think of. Thanks."  
  
"No problem." Things got kinda quiet for a minute before I spoke up again. "You probably should go before your parents get worried."  
  
"You're probably right." Rai still didn't move.  
  
"Rai? Is something wrong?"  
  
"Yeah.Fire Storm, back before I knew who you really were, I really liked Xavier. He was smart, kinda shy, and really nice to me. but almost as soon as I met him, I met you. You're handsome, strong, but still sensitive. I tried to hide it, but I liked you too. I didn't want to admit it, but I really liked who I thought were two different guys, and I knew it wasn't fair to either of you to have another person in the wings that I cared for just as much, but I didn't want to lose either of you. Now I know that you and Xavier were the same person, but you knew this whole time. You knew, and you never said anything, in either form.why didn't you do anything? Why didn't you tell me what I was doing, or leave me, or something? Anything?"  
  
"Rai.I didn't do anything because I." Think fast! "I didn't want to get you upset. What good would it be for me if you decided you didn't want to be with me anymore? I really like you too, Rai. I don't want you to leave; ever."  
  
"Fire Storm." Rai slowly got off the hood of the car. I walked over to her, my body on auto-pilot as my mind was barely able to comprehend what was happening. Oh; I knew what was going on. I just couldn't believe it was happening.  
  
Soon Rai and I were standing with maybe an inch or two of space between us. We stared into each others eyes for a while. she has such beautiful hazel eyes.  
  
I leaned down and gave Rai a kiss on the lips. It wasn't anything really intimate; I just touched the edge of my muzzle to Rai's lips. Both of us seemed shocked by what I did.  
  
"Rai, I'm so sor." I started to apologize, but was silenced by the kiss I received in return.  
  
"Shh.don't apologize.you didn't do anything wrong." Rai kissed me again, slowly wrapping her tail around my waist. I kissed back, slowly moving my hands to hold her sides. Rai put her arms around my neck, pressing herself to me as we kissed. That's how we remained for a while, occasionally opening our mouths to one another.  
  
I didn't think much about it at the time (I had other things on my mind at the moment, if you can believe it), but it occurred to me later that I was really enjoying this. Unlike when me and Serena were a little intimate, I was starting to feel real desire for Rai. I mean, sure, I like kissing and holding Serena, but I don't get nearly as much joy out of it like I was now with Rai. It had been a few days since I had done anything like this with Serena, but it was like going from one extreme to the other. Was their something about Rai that made me feel like this, or something missing in Serena that didn't make me feel this way? Maybe it meant I was going to evolve soon; Chris mentioned something before about how physical desire increases as evolution gets closer. Heh; evolving.last thing I ever expected to say about myself.  
  
Still holding Rai with one hand, I moved the other to gently stroke her hair. She responded by moving her hands to my jacket. I wasn't sure what she was doing, till I heard the zipper on it starting to lower on it. I looked at Rai, a little confused. She pulled away and looked embarrassed.  
  
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."  
  
I kissed her again, letting her know it was alright. Rai quickly went back to work, undoing and removing my jacket for me, tossing it into the car. I was in heaven; Rai's body against mine, her lips against mine, her tail wrapped around my waist, my fingers running through her hair.  
  
"Where is she?! She's late!"  
  
"Damn." Rai pulled away, having heard the voices up the street. "Sorry; my parents. I better go before they flip their lid."  
  
"Oh." I let out a little whimper, but her parents really don't like Hybrids; I'm sure they wouldn't want to see her kissing me. "O.K; go ahead."  
  
"Alright. are you doing anything tonight?" she asked.  
  
"Other than dodging Phoenix, not really."  
  
"Yeah.listen, do you want to go see a movie or something?"  
  
"Movie? Um, yeah, I think I'm free."  
  
"O.K." Rai gave me one last kiss. "Thanks for everything, Fire Storm. See you around 6?"  
  
"Sure; 6. Bye." Rai walked up the street, waving to me as she did. I watched her till I saw her go in her house so I could find it later, then hopped in the car. I thought about going back to the house, but my presence would probably make things even worse with Phoenix. Instead I decided to go back to the Center. Phoenix probably wouldn't be able to get out of the house and all the way there without somebody getting a hold on her. Besides, I had to return the stuff I'd bought with me to the basement, and I still had a shift to work later at the Center.  
  
I drove back quickly, trying not to let what just happened with me and Rai distract me from my driving. It wasn't easy; the girl who I first fell in love with, the one I created when I needed someone, not just as a story-friend, but as a companion, was real and cared for me as much as I cared for her. I was still trying to get my head around the idea that she existed; her feelings for me just added to my confusion.  
  
Reaching the Center without having run anybody down or anything, I parked the car in the garage before walking into the Center.well, the Center doors. I forgot they didn't open right.  
  
"Joy! Can we please take of these doors?!" I yelled, rubbing my muzzle. "It's not fun walking into them; especially twice in one day!"  
  
"I'll work on it, but you've got other problems." Joy informed me as I opened the doors and walked in.  
  
"I do?"  
  
"Yes; Serena called here 3 times looking for you. She looked upset on the VidPhone."  
  
"Upset? Why would she be up.set. oh no." I swear, all the blood just drained out of my face. How could I have not thought of this before?! I'm already in love with Serena; I can't be in love with Rai too! What the fuck was I thinking when I was with Rai?! I couldn't do what I did!  
  
I went over to the VidPhone, still trying to think of what I was going to say when I dialed home. Serena picked up almost immediately, not looking very happy.  
  
"Hi, Serena." I said weakly, half expecting her to smell Rai's scent on my body through the phone.  
  
"Hello, Xavier." Serena looked down before going on. "Xavier. I just want to know. do you have feelings for Raichel?"  
  
Nothing like getting right to the point, I thought as I struggled for an appropriate answer.  
  
"Serena. I do have feelings for Rai. D-Do you mind?..."  
  
"Xavier; I-I don't want to sound greedy, but. I don't wanna share my puppy."  
  
That's Serena's pet name for me. I call her my vixen, and she calls me her puppy. It's cute, but I wasn't concerned with cute at the moment.  
  
"I understand, Serena, but.you know who Rai is. I've had feelings for her for a while. I-I can't just stop our relationship now. She says we agreed to have a deeper relationship than just friends just before she left. I can't just break up with her now."  
  
"Xavier." She looked even more upset than she did before. "I don't want you to go away.  
  
"I promise I won't leave you Serena; I'd never leave you." What am I gonna do? I screwed myself by being in love with two women at once when I could only choose one of them. Serena didn't want to share me with Rai, and I'm sure Rai would've felt the same way if she knew. I loved them both, though; how could I possible tell either one of them that we couldn't have a relationship anymore?  
  
"Serena. I need some time to think about this. It's just so much to think about in such a short time."  
  
"Xavier." Serena sniffed and looked close to tears. "Don't go; I need you."  
  
"I won't. look, I know this probably isn't the best time, but."  
  
"We can go to the movies another time. Enjoy your time with Raichel."  
  
"I. I-I gotta get to work. Bye, Serena." I hung up before that look in her eyes made me cry. What was I gonna do?...  
  
I thought about what I was going to do with Serena and Rai all through work. I loved them both, and I didn't want to hurt either of them, but I couldn't have them both, and if I tried to I'd only end up hurting them both.man; I thought things were complicated enough when I first came here; being in love with two different people at the same time was not helping me at all. Sighing, I tried not to think about it as I started to work. With it being Mating Week, things were a mess around the Center with trainers and Hybrids coming in for their meds while we had to give the Pokémon that were already here medicine on top of all the other stuff we had to do, I didn't have a moment to so much as sit down without falling behind with something.  
  
When 6 finally came around, I still hadn't really made up my mind about what I was going to say. I hadn't told Joy about what was going on, though I sensed she knew something was going was getting in the way of me and Serena. She asked if everything was alright, and of course I told her everything was fine, but she didn't buy a word of it. None of that really mattered as I took the car out again, still having no idea what I was going to do with Rai. I struggled with it some more during the drive, but was still no closer to an answer when I saw Rai standing on the edge of her road.  
  
"Hi, Fire Storm. Sorry about not meeting you at the house, but Mom and Dad."  
  
"Yeah, I understand." Rai walked around and got in the passenger side seat. "So, where do you want to go?"  
  
"I don't know; any ideas?"  
  
"Well.we could always go to the movie theater. There's a bunch of new stuff playing."  
  
"O.K." I started to drive toward the theater. It was a good long drive to the theater; one that would leave plenty of time for talk. To be honest, I was hoping Rai wouldn't want to say anything so I could have more time to think. In desperation, I turned on the radio, hoping Rai would want to listen to the music.  
  
"Want to listen to anything?" I asked as I flipped through the stations.  
  
"Anything that isn't country or rap would be fine."  
  
"O.K; I can manag...whoa!" Suddenly the radio shot off a small shower of sparks before shutting down. Rai yelped when that happened, and I suddenly slammed on the brakes instinctually. "You O.K?!"  
  
"Yeah, fine." Rai looked at the radio, giving it a cautious poke. "Didn't expect that to happen. Well, if you're O.K., let's not let it spoil the evening.  
  
"Right." I said while mentally thinking, "FUCK!" I couldn't think of anything to distract Rai with now that the radio blew.  
  
We managed to get about a quarter of the way to the theater without anything being said. True; I didn't really want to talk because of how unsure I was with Serena and Rai, but it was so damn uncomfortable driving around and not saying anything. All the stress that had been building up before grew with each passing second. Soon it was going to explode into something horrible if something didn't happen soon.  
  
"Fire Storm. is something wrong? You seem kinda tense."  
  
"Tense? No! Nothing's wrong! What makes you think something's wrong?"  
  
"Well, you haven't said a word since the radio thing. I thought maybe you were just being shy at first, but I can feel a lot more than that. Something's wrong; I can feel it."  
  
"Nothing's wrong Rai; really."  
  
"There is, Fire Storm. With all the time we've known each other, I've learned to pick up on when's something's bothering you, and something's really bothering you right now. Please, tell me. Let me help you."  
  
Rai looked at me with a pleading look, one that begged to be told the truth. She just wanted to help me, and I wanted her to help, but I couldn't just tell her what was happening. What could I tell her? She'd known me for years, but she'd never understand this.  
  
I dunno what it was at the moment. It wasn't like some huge revelation or spiritual guidance or any of that sort of stuff; it was like my brain and my heart finally realizing the errors of my ways. No matter how much this hurt, I had to do this. It wasn't just for me, but for Rai and Serena too.  
  
I pulled over to the side of the road on the highway. Rai looked confused as I shut down the engine and pulled out the key, putting it in my pocket.  
  
"Fire Storm? What are you doing?"  
  
"Rai.I." Oh damnit; just say it, man! "W-We can't have a relationship."  
  
Rai still looked as confused as she did when I stopped the car. Slowly, though, my words started to sink in.  
  
"We can't.b-but Fire Storm, why not?"  
  
"Rai. me and Serena. while you were gone, she and I. we're in love, Rai. It's not fair to either of you for me to have to split my feelings between two people."  
  
"S-Serena?" Rai's lip started to quiver, and I could see tears forming in her eyes. "B-But Fire Storm. you said you'd always wait for me; in both forms."  
  
"Rai. I'm sorry; I know I've hurt you, but."  
  
"But what?! Fire Storm; I love you! Love you! Now y-you've just taken that a-and thrown it back in my face! Do you have any idea how much this hurts?!"  
  
"Rai." Now she was in full blown tears. I tried to hold her and calm her down, but she curled into a ball and shook me off. I whimpered. "Rai.please, forgive me."  
  
"Forgive you?! FORGIVE YOU?! YOU TOOK WHAT MIGHT BE MY ONLY CHANCE AT FINDING LOVE, RIPPED IT INTO SHREDS, AND EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU?!!?! I.I- I."  
  
"Rai?...Rai?" Rai suddenly went limp, her body slumping over to the side and leaning against the car door. "RAI!"  
  
What happened?! Why'd she pass out?! She was breathing, but her eyes were shut tight and she wasn't moving a bit.  
  
This is all I need!, I thought as I dug out the key from my pocket. Where was the closest hospital around here? There was one a couple miles north where Phoenix and I usually go when we get hurt, but that could be too far. I needed something clos.  
  
"Why are you hurting Rachel?"  
  
"Jesus and Mary!" I yelped, looking over at Rai. She was now sitting up and holding her head. Something was still wrong, though; her voice sounded different now, and did she say Rachel? She never called herself Rachel before. The last time she did that was when she was human.  
  
"Why are you doing this to Rachel, Fire Storm? Why are you hurting my trainer?" Rai said. Yeah; her voice definitely changed.and trainer? What was. oh.  
  
"R-Raichu? Is that you?" Rai nodded solemnly.  
  
Well, now might be a good time to explain how Rai became a Hybrid. Back when Raichel was still human, she'd encountered a trainer while she was waiting to challenge the leader of a Psychic Gym. He was training at the gym, and challenged Rai to a battle. At first Rai declined, wanting to save up her Pokémon's for the fight, but the guy was relentless with the taunting and was basically being a jerk. In the end, she decided to duel him just to shut him up.  
  
The battle started quickly, Raichel sending out her Raichu and the other trainer using a Kadabra. Rai was confident in her abilities and her Pokémon's powers, but her Raichu was heavily outmatched for this fight. The fight was pretty much over seconds after it began, but this guy wasn't content to simply defeat the Raichu. He ordered his Kadabra to do some serious stuff to it, long after it was unable to fight. Rai kept trying to recall her Raichu, but she couldn't get the retractor beam from the ball to connect. Her pleading for the other trainer to stop didn't work either. Finally, after being slammed into trees, the walls of the Gym and the ground, the Kadabra finally laid the Raichu down on the ground. Rai ran over to her bloody and battered Pokémon. Just before she reached her(The Raichu was a girl), though, the trainer ordered his Kadabra to perform a Psychic attack. Rai, in desperation, grabbed her Pokémon and tried to shield her from the blast with her body. That was her last moment of humanity.  
  
One way which a Hybrid can be created which hasn't been discussed yet basically goes like this: A human has to have the blood of a Pokémon on their skin. They have to be touching that Pokémon Another Pokémon or Hybrid (or human, which is rare) has to use a psychic type move on them.  
  
If all three of those elements are in place, there's almost a 100% chance that the human and Pokémon will be combined into a Hybrid. While you'd think this happen a lot, it rarely happens at all because of all the risks involved. At the time of the combination of human and Pokémon, the two enter a serious mental struggle. Whoever's mind is able to over power the other's will be in control of the new Hybrid body for most of the time. Occasionally, the other will gain some control in times of high stress or with a lot of fighting, but it doesn't last long. Even so, there's also a very high risk of permanent brain damage and insanity, not to mention death from the sheer pain of the forced combination.(That's why it's not too popular.) Rai would be considered extremely lucky to dodge all of those, except that her Raichu, instead of engaging in the mental struggle at the time of the change, simply let her take over because of her loyalty to her. Rai took control in her panic, but has regretted it many times since.  
  
After Rachel and Raichu became Raichel, the Gym Leader finally came out in response to all the commotion. When he realized what happened, the trainer Rai was facing was soon arrested and was later sentenced to life in prison. Even with that and the large settlement Rai's family received from the other trainer's family, the damage was done. Rai couldn't stand to look at her Pokémon anymore because of the loss of her Raichu and gave up training, releasing her Pokémon back into the wild. It took her months to even look in the mirror without bursting into tears, and she has constant nightmares about what happened on that day. Her parents paranoia of Hybrids and over-protectiveness of her have only made the situation worse.  
  
"Raichu. I'm sorry. I don't want to break up with Rai, but I have to." Though the other person involved in the Hybrid combo isn't aware of what's happening when the first is in control, they can recall those memories in an instant when they do get it.  
  
"Why, Fire Storm? Why did you hurt Rachel? She loves you; she wants to be with you. What changed so suddenly that you don't want to be with her?"  
  
"I.It's a really long story, Raichu. You wouldn't understand."  
  
"Try me. I can be very open-minded."  
  
I let out a sigh; I had to do this... "Alright. what I'm about to tell you may sound like total crap. Believe what you will of it; I know it doesn't sound possible, but I swear that it's the truth."  
  
I told Raichu everything. I told her about how I came over here from the Shadow World, about how Rai was my dream girl, about Serena, about how I never knew Rai existed; the whole nine yards. When I finished, I watched Raichu, waiting for a reaction.  
  
"Wow.that's quite a story."  
  
I nodded. "Sometimes I wish it was just a story." Nobody said anything for a while. Finally Raichu spoke up again.  
  
"Well, it sounds absolutely crazy. then again, it sounds too crazy to be made up."  
  
"So. do you believe me or not?"  
  
"I. guess I have to. It's weird, but it explains how you didn't know where her house was, or that you didn't know she didn't know that you and Xavier were the same guy.yeah, I guess I do."  
  
I let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks. but do you understand now why I started a relationship with Serena while I promised Rai I'd be with her if she ever came back?"  
  
Raichu nodded again. "You didn't know Rachel existed, and she left before you came here. You and Serena had feelings for each other in your Shadow World, and it was when you came here you admitted it to each other. Not knowing Rachel was around, you didn't know anything was wrong."  
  
"Right."  
  
"Well, that explains that." Raichu sighed. "However, you have to convince Rachel; not me."  
  
"Do you think she'll believe it?"  
  
"I can't say for sure, but there's a good chance. She'll still take the breakup hard."  
  
"I still want to be with Rai; even if we're just friends. She means too much to me to los." Raichu gave a little twitch, then collapsed against the door. I started to get worried, but realized it was just Rachel gaining control again. After a few tense seconds, Rai sat up again, shaking her head.  
  
"Raichel? That you?"  
  
"Fire Storm? Yes; it's me." She went quiet for a while, probably thinking over the information Raichu had heard.  
  
"Rai, I'm sorry about this. If I'd known you were here, things might've been different."  
  
"I understand. it still really hurts, but I understand. I-I believe you, too, Fire Storm."  
  
"Raichel." I didn't know what to say. She was probably still mad at me, but at least she forgave me. I felt relief, happiness and sadness at the same time; relief because she understood, happiness because she forgave me, but also sadness because I really did want to have a relationship with her. It was all so weird.  
  
"Well, it's like Raichu said; it sounds too crazy to be made up." Rai looked up into my eyes. "It'll take a while, but I'll get used to it. I promise."  
  
"Thanks Rai; thank you so much." I sniffed and blinked back a few tears. "Rai. despite what's happened, I still love you. You mean too much to me for me to just stop loving you. Some days, when it seemed like everything was going wrong, all I had to do was think about you, and I'd feel a lot better. You were always there when it seemed like no one else was. I need you Rai; badly."  
  
"Fire Storm." Rai looked embarrassed. "Everything you've said about me in your Shadow World; how much you love me, what we did, how you loved me. I don't know what to say."  
  
"Don't say anything. I don't want that to spoil anything that might still be left between us."  
  
"O.K." No one said anything. Rai moved her hands and placed them gentle over mine. I gave a weak smile in response.  
  
"I've still got a question, Fire Storm.can I call you that?"  
  
"Yeah; I gotta get used to it."  
  
"O.K. anyway, if you supposedly came here from another world, are you the same Fire Storm and Xavier? Did they go somewhere else when you came here? I. I'm just not sure if you're the same guys I've really liked for a while. You seem like it, but I just can't be sure."  
  
"I can't be sure either." I hadn't even thought about that before. Was there another me that I replaced when I came here, and did he replace me in my world? If he didn't, then where was he? Was there even another me here before I arrived? We're all of the memories of me everyone has just made up? I moaned and shook my head; I just wanted a simple day off today.  
  
"Oh God.oh no."  
  
"Rai? What's wrong?"  
  
"Fire Storm. if you supposedly made me up in your world, then. am I only here because of you? Did you creating me as a character make me real here? If it did. then you're. like my Dad."  
  
"I'd never thought of it like that." Is there ANYTHING simple in this place?! "Let's not think about it tonight. We can worry about that later; right now I just want to enjoy a movie."  
  
Rai nodded. "We're not gonna find out any of this stuff tonight. Let's just go."  
  
I started the car again, and that was that. We didn't talk anymore about Rai's existence or our relationship or anything like that. I think we'd all had enough of that.  
  
Instead, we saw a movie (with my mind being elsewhere at the time, I really don't remember what it was we saw.) and went to Burger King afterward for dinner. Even though we didn't talk about us, Rai helped me out by telling me about the more notable points of my past in case somebody ever bought them up; at least I have a clue what people are talking about it now if they start bringing up stuff about me. Despite everything that had happened, we actually had a relaxing evening.  
  
When we finally made it back to Rai's street, no one said anything for a while. Rai slowly got out and walked around to my side of the car. I got out as well and stood with her.  
  
"Rai; I really had a good time."  
  
"Me too." Silence. I hate silence, but what was I gonna say?  
  
"Rai. I'm sorry about tonight. You know that just because we can't have a relationship doesn't mean I'll stop loving you, right?"  
  
Rai nodded. "I'll always love you too, Fire Storm. Xavier, too. No matter what happens, I'll always be here for you."  
  
"Same here." I gave Rai a little kiss on her forehead. "You should go. I'll call you tomorrow."  
  
"O.K." Rai smiled and kissed me under my muzzle. "Bye."  
  
"Bye." Rai slowly turned and started to walk back up her road. I know I broke her heart, but hopefully I could help her mend it. Who knows; I got so many guys in the house, maybe I could hook Rai up with one of them. wait!  
  
"Rai! Wait up a minute!"  
  
"Fire Storm?" Rai turned around, looking confused. "What's wrong?"  
  
"What's your phone number?"  
  
"My number? You know it. oh, right." Rai smiled and told me it. (I'm not printing it here; the last thing she needs is somebody calling her up and bothering her with inane questions.) We said our good-byes again, and she went back up the road. I watched her go as far as I could, then got back in and drove to the Center. I thought about heading back home, but I was just so beat that I decided to spend the night at the Center. It was closed by now, but going to the front doors, there was a surprise waiting for me.  
  
"Serena?!" Serena was sitting in front of the doors, probably waiting for me. She stood up and walked over with a face full of questions.  
  
"Xavier? What happened? Is everything alright?"  
  
I nodded slowly. "Rai and I are still gonna be friends, but we're not gonna have a relationship. We both agreed it was the best thing."  
  
Serena smiled, but that was quickly replaced with a look of sadness. She knew how hard it must've been for me.  
  
"I'm sorry, Xavier. I just wanted my puppy."  
  
"Don't. It's not your fault; it never was."  
  
Serena's eyes started to get misty, then she hugged me tightly. I gently hugged her back, hoping she'd let up on the pressure a little. Despite her small size, she's got a grip tighter than a vise. We just held each other for a while, enjoying each other's company. We let go after a while; Serena had promised her Pokémon she'd be home in a little bit, so she couldn't stay.  
  
"Oh; I found out about that Jolteon Hybrid. His name's Dark Elf. He says you know him?..."  
  
"Dark Elf?... oh geez; yeah, I remember him. Haven't talked to him in ages." Dark Elf is another of my online buddies, but I hadn't talked to him in months. The last time I saw him was just as I was logging on to AIM; he left before I could say anything to him. Must've read the stories and decided to take up my offer for people to come over.  
  
"Alright. oh; I found this in your room." Serena reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Phoenix wanted me to hide it so you wouldn't find it, but I thought you might want to see it, so I made a copy."  
  
"Thanks." I unfolded the paper and studied it. It was a photograph of a person who looked like a younger Mom in a park, holding a small human baby. The picture was kinda blocked, though; who ever had taken the picture had gotten their finger in the way of the lens.  
  
"Wow. I'd never saw any pictures of this world yet." I folded the paper back up and put it in my pocket.  
  
"O.K; I should go. Bye.my love." Serena stood up on her tippy-toes and kissed my muzzle. I smiled and kissed her back.  
  
"Bye, lover." Serena started walking to her house. I watched her for a while, then unlocked the door to the Center and pulled them apart. (Hah! Bet you thought I was gonna walk into them again, didn't you?!)  
  
Joy was probably asleep, so I tiptoed to the trainer bedroom so I didn't wake her. I flopped down on the bed, drained not physically, but emotionally. If I had to guess, I would say that this was probably the most stressful day here, if not a close second to Serena last month.  
  
Working my way under the covers, all I wanted to do was sleep. Can you blame me? My mind started to wander like it usually does when I start to fall asleep. I hoped Mom was O.K. It was gonna be harder than ever to work with her with what happened today. I really had to tell her about me sometime soon before things got even worse. Still, how could she be blamed? I thought back to the picture of her holding the baby, who I guessed was me. How would she guess that the child she held in her arms there would end up being her partner in bounty hunting? I know I wouldn'. wait a minute.  
  
I felt around for the lamp next to me. Finding the switch, I turned it on and sat up, pulling out the copy of the picture Serena had given me. I knew what it was, but something occurred to me. If Mom was holding me in the picture, then. who took the picture? It probably wasn't a professional job, and I couldn't see her just asking some random stranger to take it. Could it be?...  
  
I studied the finger that had gotten in the way of the shot. It was hard to tell, but it looked like there were was white fur on the finger. Mom would've probably thrown it out unless she had a reason to keep it. maybe it was someone close to her? I thought about that for a bit. White fur. someone close to her. wait. the person who took it. was it?...  
  
"Dad?"  
  
Yes! It's finished! I'm shocked myself. I know I promised to do this a lot quicker, but as many of you have probably come to learn, when it comes to getting things done on time, I'm pretty bad. I am honestly working on it!  
  
What? You say that I didn't add two new characters like I usually do? Hey, it's how things happened. There can't always be two new people coming to the house every time I decide to write about an important event. Maybe two will come next time, maybe one, maybe none; it all depends on when I write. I'll try to pick a better time, when people are coming over, to do the next chapter.  
  
Update(10/26/02): If you wish to e-mail me, you'll have to do it at firehybrid@swirvemail.com now. The old e-mail address will no longer work. Also, Chris just informed me www.khat-fox.com/~pocketpeople, will be down till at least mid-November. He's moved, and the phone company is taking forever to install the lines so he can get the site back up. Sorry.  
  
Send your character requests to the new e-mail address. I'll e-mail you back in a few days, and you can put them on the web page when it comes back up.  
  
Cross my heart and hope to die, I'll have 6 done before year's end. There will be a change of POV for that chapter. I'm sure you'll be surprised by who takes over the keyboard for that one. 


	6. A Phoenix is Reborn

Hello, everyone. Fire Storm won't be writing this chapter. Instead, he's asked me, Phoenix, to share my view on the events that occur here. Since I haven't as much experience writing stories as he has, I'm not sure how good of a job I did. Fire Storm enjoys it, but...well, judge for yourself.

(So I suppose we can blame this lateness on Phoenix, huh? -ed Rick)

Chp.6-A Phoenix is Reborn

From the dairy of Cassie Canin, Arcanine Hybrid

12/18/01- Christmas is in a week, and it looks like it will be just me and Xavier alone again at home on Christmas morning. Despite all his friends, Pokémon or otherwise, the house seems so empty. Maybe it's just the hole in my heart that makes things seem that way, especially after what happened with me and Fire Storm tonight. Everything's ruined now... I just wanted to help...

It began about a week before Christmas. I was waiting for Fire Storm in Applebee's just after the sun had went down. Normally we'd be out arresting criminals or finding new ones to hunt, but we had just made a big arrest last night. A pharmacist was setting up an overpriced, phony drug store here in Sapphire Town. He'd been arrested before for the same thing in North Dakota, but he jumped bail as soon as the trial started.

Once he thought the heat was off, he set up his new store. Fire Storm and I tracked down some of his patients and got some samples of their pills and medicine. Once a lab proved that all the medicine he gave was sugar pills and cough syrup, we were able to arrest him. The district attorney prescribed him 10 to 25 years while we both received nearly 5 grand after taxes. After that big success, we felt like taking a break and celebrating tonight.

"Fire Storm! Over here!" I gave a wave to Fire Storm as he walked in. He smiled and walked over, taking a seat across the table from me. He wore his black leather jacket and a white t-shirt underneath it with his jeans, and I wore a light-blue t-shirt and jeans.

"Hello, Phoenix. How are you tonight?" he asked when he sat down.

"I'm alright; yourself?"

"A little tired, but otherwise fine..." Fire Storm let out a little yawn. "See what I mean?"

I nodded. Xavier looked half-asleep himself this morning. I'm very loose with him when it comes to going to bed and the like; as long as he keeps his grades up, he could stay up all night if he wanted. Still, sometimes I come home about 2 or 3 in the morning and one of his Pokémon friends will tell me he just went to sleep. I don't want to mother him too much, but sometimes I wonder if I don't mother him enough, either.

The waiter came soon and took our orders. Once we'd received our drinks and appetizers, I studied Fire Storm as I ate slowly. For so long I've had feelings for him; deep, emotional feelings. We've known each other for over a year now, and we've become great partners. He watches my back, I watch his, and together we've caught dozens of criminals. Outside work, he's such a sweet, gentle guy... I just wished my feelings for him were returned. I've never understood how Fire Storm couldn't have noticed how much I care for him. It seemed like there was just something inside him; something that wouldn't let him realize my feelings for him. At first I thought that my love wasn't shared by Fire Storm, but now I know what's really going on. Fire Storm loves me, but not in the way he should...

I didn't bring it up right then. We made small talk and finished our appetizers, and then our main meals arrived. We ate those also before I started with what I wanted to say. I wanted to make sure Fire Storm was nice and settled; what I had to say was sure to surprise him, and I wanted to make sure he stayed to hear everything.

After the waiter cleared our plates and we ordered desserts, I felt now was the time. I gently placed my paw over Fire Storm's as it rested on the table. He looked over at me, confused.

"Phoenix? What is it?"

"Fire Storm... you're a wonderful man, and I want you to know... I love you."

"P-Phoenix..." he stammered. He clearly wasn't expecting this. "I-I..."

"Please, let me finish." I picked up his paw and held it in both of mine. "I know you love me too, but not in the way I expected you to. Please, just tell me... why... why do you think I'm your mother?..."

"WHAT?!" Fire Storm tried to pull his paw away, but I held it tightly and kept him from leaving.

"I was talking with your friend Sandact online a few days ago. Your AIM kicked on, and I was starting to close it when she sent you a message...I'm sorry, but I was too curious. I know so little about you; I was hoping your friend would tell me a little about you. What she said... I couldn't believe it at first, but then I started checking your e-mails... they confirmed everything..."

"You went through my e-mail?!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to know..." I looked down before going on. "Fire Storm, you should know Xavier's my only child, and you're not Xavier. Please, let's go back to my home. I'll show you you're not my son..."

"NO!" Fire Storm managed to yank his paw out of my grip. He stood up hastily, pulling out his wallet and placing a $100 dollar bill on the table. "I can't... I'm sorry..."

I watched as Fire Storm quickly made his way to the exit. I realized what was happening, but my brain couldn't get my feet to move till he was out the door.

"Fire Storm? Fire Storm!" I moved as fast as I could, but he was already pulling out of the lot on a new motorcycle I'd never seen before, not even looking at me as he drove up the ramp out of the plaza. "FIRE STORM!"

I watched him until he was out of sight. Sniffing and fighting back tears, I walked back into the restaurant to grab my purse. I tried hard not to look at anyone as I walked back out to the car, barely able to focus on the road as I drove home. It all happened so fast...I couldn't believe it...

After a few minutes, I just had to pull over. Shutting the car off, I stared off into space, too upset to do anything else. I lost Fire Storm... I lost another man I loved, maybe forever like Blaze...

"DAMN IT!" I punched the steering wheel hard; so hard the airbag went off in my face. I didn't even care; I just buried my head into it and cried, pounding on the dashboard with my fist. It happened again...why did it have to happen again?...

For what seemed like forever I cried there, my sobs and the passing cars the only sounds in the night. The airbag had long deflated when I started the car again. Looking at the clock, I'd seen I'd been there for over half an hour. I wanted to keep crying, but I just couldn't anymore. Instead, I made my way home. I'd asked Joy to keep Xavier busy enough so I could get home before he did. I don't want him to know I'm a Hybrid; he's not ready to understand the truth about his father and I. Hell; sometimes _I _still don't believe it's true.

Chris and Andrea were asleep together on the couch when I walked in, which was good for me. They know about me, but they're the only ones besides Xavier's Pokémon friends and Amber. They help me by warning me when Xavier's coming if I'm in Hybrid form and stalling him till I can change to human. His Pokémon also tell me how he's doing and if they think I need to do something with him. I try my best, but its hard being a single parent; I need a little help from everyone that's close to Xavier.

No one saw me from the front door to my room. Rick was probably out on a date with Rai, Serena was at her home, and the others were probably in their rooms. Closing the door quietly behind me, I collapsed onto my bed and began to cry again, clutching the sheets as I buried my head into a pillow. I wanted someone to hold me; let me know it would all be alright. I knew the truth, though. There was no one; there never would be...

12/22/01 – Fire Storm hasn't called me, and he's not answering his phone. I've tried waiting at the Center for him in my Hybrid form, but he hasn't shown up. I don't know what to do... I try to pass the time by watching Xavier as he works. He seems to really enjoy what he does over there, and he tries to help everyone that comes in, no matter the circumstances. He's even come over to me a few times and asked if there was anything he could help me with because he thought I looked troubled by something. I always tell him I'm fine, but he always insists on doing something for me. He must have noticed by now how I've been coming in the past 3 days and just sat there, waiting for someone I know won't come. He works so hard to try and please others... I'm just glad that it's now winter break for him, so he can relax and not worry about his job and whatnot.

"The person you are trying to reach is not available at this time. Please leave a message after the tone."

TONE!

"Fire Storm, it's me... Please, call me. I'm sorry for what happened; I just wanted to help. Please; call..."

I replaced the receiver before I totally lost control of myself again. Dammit Cassie!, I thought as I slammed my fist against the wall, what were you thinking?! You're heart may have been in the right place, but your head certainly wasn't. Telling him you know he thinks you're his mother, then asking him to come back to your house... he must've thought I was trying to come on to him or something. I wasn't; I just wanted him to see Xavier and know that he wasn't my son, but still...

"Wha?... What was that?" a voice mumbled sleepily in the other room.

"I dunno...sounded loud." said another, equally sleepily voice.

I peer around through the doorway and saw Xavier's Pokémon Feraligatr and Nidorino on the couch, having just been disturbed from their mid-morning pre-lunch nap. I respect Xavier's choices for his Pokémon, but I wonder... his Feraligatr and Nidorino are incredibly lazy most of the time, his Furret is border-line insane, his Houndor is very cowardly... I truly think he could've done a better job than he has picking his team.

"Sorry, guys..." I apologized, blinking back tears. "I didn't know you were there..."

"It's alright." Nidorino's ears perked up for a moment, then he leapt on top of the couch, leaning on the windowsill as he looked out the open window. "Hey there, beautiful! You better tell that trainer of yours to get ready to catch me, because you're making me go wild!"

"Nidorino..." Feraligatr sighed and shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you; that Nidoqueen hates your guts!"

"As if! Everyone wants a piece of... uh-oh. DUCK!" Nidorino dropped down to the couch just in time to dodge a volley of Poison Needles. I quickly ran over and shut the window just in time to block another set of needles. Both the Nidoqueen and its trainer began to yell some obscene things at Nidorino, but it was hard to hear exactly what they were saying through the window.

"She wants me." Nidorino said proudly.

"What?! She just threw Poison Needles at you! What part of your small brain makes you think she wants..." Feraligatr stopped for a second to look at me. "Cassie? Are you O.K?"

"Yes, I'm fine..." I tried to hide my red face, but it was no good. Feraligatr could see it clearly, and now Nidorino noticed it.

"Cassie? Have you been crying?"

"I..." I sighed and wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. "Yes, I have..."

"What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?" Nidorino asked.

I nodded silently. Nidorino moved over so I could sit on the couch. Feraligatr moved closer as well.

"So what's going on?" Feraligatr asked.

"It's Fire Storm... you guys know how I feel for him, right?"

"Sure we do; we've met him a few times at the Center, remember?"

"That's right. Anyway, Fire Storm... it's not easy to explain. He... he thinks I'm his mother."

"His mother?!" Both of them looked shocked. Although I didn't say it, it felt nice to know I wasn't the only one who was left in the dark on this.

"Oh Mew..." Feraligatr muttered. "You mean, he thinks he's your pup?" I nodded. "Why does he think he's your kid?"

"I don't know; I only learned about it a week ago myself. He's felt this way about me the whole time..."

"Well, I guess that explains a lot," Nidorino said. "like why he's always avoided you during Mating Week. I mean, who would want to avoid such a thing of beauty?"

I smiled weakly. Xavier's Pokémon are good friends, but I've never felt any real love for them. In previous Mating Weeks, I've been, well... friendly... with the male Pokémon, but nothing's ever happened between us, nor will anything probably ever happen. My first husband was the only man I've ever mated with. I was hoping maybe one day I'd have Fire Storm as my second husband and have a child with him, but even if I couldn't have a child with him, I'd still want to love him. The way things looked now, though...

"Did you tell Fire Storm what you found out about him?" Feraligatr asked.

I nodded weakly and explained to them that's exactly what the problem was. As I finished telling them what happened that night, I could feel the tears in my eyes again and tried to blink them back.

"Cassie... I'm sorry..." Feraligatr said solemnly. Nidorino had other things on his mind.

"He's got a motorcycle now? I wonder if he'll let me have a ride..."

"Nidorino!" Feraligatr whacked Nidorino upside the head with his paw. "Pay attention!"

"Ow! Sorry, Mr., 'I'm fully evolved so I know everything!'" Nidorino hopped down to the floor. "If you want to help Cassie, you can do it by yourself!"

"Nidorino..." Feraligatr muttered as Nidorino ran upstairs, then he seemed to get control of himself. "I'll be the bigger Mon, I'll be the bigger Mon..."

"Thank you, Feraligatr." Nidorino is almost as easily distracted as Furret sometimes, and Furret will often want to go look and play with things simply because they're shiny.

"Have you talked to Fire Storm since what happened at the restaurant?"

"No; I was in the middle of calling him for probably the billionth time when I woke you guys up."

"I see. Anything I can do to help?"

"Not really... I don't know where Fire Storm lives, and I don't have a home phone number for him; just his cell phone and e-mail address. I doubt you could do much better; no offense."

"That's it? Why don't you have anything else?"

"It's standard procedure for bounty hunters; the less you know about your partner, the less you can give someone who tries to force information out of you about him. Fire Storm shouldn't know as much about me as he does; if he gets captured, I might be at risk, too. I'm willing to take the risk, though. I love that man; I'd rather be in bondage with him than be free without him..."

"But you can't, Cassie. What about Xavier? Are you just going to forget about him to satisfy your own desires? He loves you too; not in the way you love Fire Storm, but he loves you all the same. He needs his Mom."

"I know..." I guess there really is more than one man in my life, and sometimes my love for Fire Storm clouds my judgment with Xavier. How would he handle having a Hybrid for a father, and finding out his mother's a Hybrid too? He's always been an accepting person, but I've been lying to him for years about the truth about his father; about Blaze... how will he react to that?

(Just a side note I'm adding now: I'm not talking about Blaze the Growlithe Xavier brings home a lot. I actually suggested that name to Xavier the first time he bought the Growlithe home, and he liked it. He had no clue that was his father's name; I just did it as a small way to remember that wonderful man...)

Nidorino suddenly came down the stairs in a hurry. "Xavier's coming!" Feraligatr quickly went back to lying down on the couch, and Nidorino settled himself in the middle of the floor while I grabbed the remote and quickly flipped on the T.V. Xavier didn't say anything when he came downstairs except for a, "Hey Mom" and then going into the kitchen . He'd just come back from an indoor tennis camp that operates during the winter and had changed into a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt after getting a shower. After getting a can of soda, he came back in and sat down on the opposite side of Feraligatr.

"So Mom, any special plans for Christmas?" he asked, popping the tab on the can.

"I don't think so; just you, me and the Pokémon."

"What about my friends? Can they stay for the holidays?"

I've always been a little touchy on the subject of Xavier's friends. It was O.K when I'd let Amber stay after we rescued her, and it was still O.K when was it was just her, Chris and Andrea, but then Rick came, now his friend Tyger, DarkElf and Bob... I had to resist shuddering thinking about Bob. He was a very strange person; at the dinner table he would often say something total out of the blue, and no one would have any clue what he was talking about except him. Xavier would often try to fake understanding, but it was clear nine times out of ten he had no clue what was going on, either.

I say he _was_ a strange person, because he's gone now. It was a little over a week after Raichel returned when it happened. Xavier had found a Fire Stone left for him by Serena a while ago, and Bob's sister back on Long Island needed it to evolve one of her Pokémon. Xavier agreed to give it to Bob so he could take it to her. Well, from what Xavier told me, Bob had some sort of special ability that allowed him to step into a shadow dimension of some sort, where he could travel huge distances in a short amount of time. When he tried to take the stone with him, though... well, nobody knows exactly what happened, but when Bob tried to go through to the other dimension, there was a huge explosion. Xavier and the others had gone to the local park to see Bob off, and the explosion sent them flying back into the park's playground equipment. None of them was seriously hurt, but Bob... There was a huge scorched spot in the earth where he'd stood, and nothing else. There was nothing left of him; he was just... obliterated. Everyone was shocked by the situation. No one talks about it much now.

"Well, I guess it's alright if they stay." Kicking them out at Christmas time, the season of giving and goodwill, would be pretty heartless of me. Besides, the extra gifts might help take Xavier's mind off Bob.

Xavier smiled. "Thanks Mom; I'm sure the others will appreciate it." He reached over and gave Feraligatr a gentle stroke. "Sleeping again, huh? You take an awfully large amount of naps..."

"That's what I always tell him!" Nidorino said; of course Xavier didn't understand him. Xavier reclined his section of the couch and lay back in his seat.

"Hey Mom; I don't think I'm gonna go back to this camp when they have it next year. It's nice, but it's just no challenge anymore."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Well, I'm the oldest kid there, besides the counselors, by at least 2 years. None of those little kids are very good; half of them are too scared to hit the ball because they think it's gonna hit them. If I'd known there'd only be little kids, I probably wouldn't have signed up in the first place."

"If that's what you think, Xavier, I'm with you. I don't want you to do something you're not going to enjoy."

"Really? You sure you're not upset about me wanting to go?"

"A little, but I'd be a lot more upset if you stayed even though you don't like it if you thought it'd make me happy."

Xavier just sat there for a few seconds, looking confused. Finally he spoke up. "You're a mother, correct?"

"Of course I am... what makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, you're reasonable, sensible and willing to listen to my opinions. Mother's aren't supposed to be like that."

"Oh..." I smiled. "Guess I'm just a bad mother."

"You must be." He smiled and flipped on the T.V and stroked Feraligatr, settling in for a while. I picked up a crossword puzzle I'd been working on and grabbed a pen, trying to focus on the blank boxes I still needed to fill.

The time seemed to fly by, and when I looked up again over an hour later, Xavier was gone. He must've gone off to work... what to do? I needed something to take my mind off Fire Storm and everything else. A yawn escaped me; maybe a nap would be good. I haven't slept much lately, worrying about Fire Storm and everything else. Yes, a nap sounds good... I reclined my part of the couch, noticing Feraligatr had left as well, and rested my head on one of the nearby pillows. After a little tossing and turning, I drifted off to what was hopefully a restful sleep.

I awoke a few hours later from the uneventful nap. The house was fairly silent now; I could hear some of Xavier's Pokémon scampering around upstairs in his room, and Rick was outside doing something in that old van of his. What to do...Xavier would still be at the Center, and there was not much else to do; maybe a couple of hours tracking down some low-life scum would cheer me up. Sure; I wouldn't have Fire Storm watching my back, but I'll just grab a couple of low risk cases. The work should take my mind off of him for at least a little while...bleh; still feel kinda sleepy. Maybe a nice hot shower would help.

Making my way upstairs, I could hear the squeaks and tumbling of Chris and Andrea's kids playing on my bed, jumping around, darting in and out from under the covers, just having a good time. I smiled at them as I walked through to the bathroom adjacent to my bedroom. After closing the door behind me and locking it tight, I started to shift into my Hybrid form.

Being so experienced with shifting, my fur was already half grown by the time I reached back and removed the band that held my hair back. Shaking my hair loose, it began to turn a snow-white colored as it fell around the sides of my head. My muzzle began to push out from my face; most people feel that, for Hybrids with elongated faces or muzzles, the face is the worst part of the change to both watch and feel, but for me it's one of the easier and more beautiful parts of it. Some muzzle extensions are rough and uneven, jutting out bit by bit, teeth growing unevenly... but mine tends to flow gently, pushing out a little at a time while my teeth grow slowly with it. My nose pushed along with my shifting mouth, turning into a cold, wet black nose that canines are well known for. It's not to say that it doesn't look strange, but after years of practice the flow of my shift has greatly improved from what it once was.

A warm wave washed over me as the rest of my body started to respond. My feet felt itchy as they grew and reshaped themselves to look much like Fire Storm's feet, though slightly smaller and sleeker than his. I've always prided myself on my figure as a human, but as the shift progressed my muscles grew ever so slightly larger and firmer. Under my fur they were barely noticeable, but they only hinted at the true strength I possessed. Thinking about how I could bench press Fire Storm with one paw helped to divert my attention away from my growing chest pressing against my loose shirt. Sometimes the feelings there get a little... intense... and while I was alone, I felt now was not the best time to be indulging myself, especially with Chris's kids in the next room.

While I was fiddling around with the knobs on the shower, my spine suddenly felt much too long as it grow out around my waist, growing through the concealed hole in my skirt as it quickly becoming fur covered. My shift completed just about the time the water was just right. It wasn't long before I had removed my clothes and stepped in.

I murred a little as the warm water ran through my fur, caressing the skin underneath. The heat from the water caused the glass that enclosed the shower to become fogged and steam up the whole shower quickly. I tried to ignore the thoughts I had of Fire Storm and focus instead on a nice, relaxing shower. This, of course, made me think about him all the more. The water splashing against my face became his soft, velvety tongue, the water running down my body became his soft paws... oh God; how I loved that feeling. I murred louder and leaned back, trying to find his large, firm body to lean against... only to be shaken to my senses when my head struck the glass wall. Now only feeling a dull ache in the back of my head, I whimpered a little and lathered up my fur.

The rest of the shower remained uneventful. Stepping out, I wrapped a pink bathrobe around myself after a quick towel dry. Opening the bathroom door, I poked my head out cautiously to find the Eevee children gone, the only sign they'd been in here at all the sheets thrown apart and the cover of the bed on the floor. With a sigh, I went over and began to remake my bed. If I didn't, then Xavier would use it against me later when I tell him to make his own bed.

It didn't take too long to fix up the bed; maybe 2 or 3 minutes. Though I was focused on the bed, I would've heard or smelt anyone who would've come into the room through the open hall door. As you can imagine then, I was very surprised when, putting the finishing touches on the cover, a strong pair of hands grabbed my sides and turned me around shortly before a strong, warm mouth clamped onto my muzzle, kissing me hard. After my initial shock, I shoved the person away and prepared for a fight, but stopped when I saw the owner of that warm mouth.

"Oh my god...F-Fire Storm...what are you doing here?" I asked in a very shocked voice.

He smiled in response. "Nice to see you too, Phoenix."

My head started to swim as I tried to understand what was going on. "I'm sorry, but... I thought you were avoiding me. You think I'm you're mother..."

"I did, Phoenix, but now I know better." Fire Storm placed his hands on my shoulders again, but gentler than before. "I really thought over what happened that night. I realized that the person who my thoughts revolve around constantly, someone so smart and beautiful, could never be my mother. She could only be my lover..."

"Fire Storm..." This was certainly a nice change of pace, but it all seemed so strange. Could this be real?...

As if in response, Fire Storm began to nuzzle his muzzle against mine, murring softly.

"I'm so sorry for any pain I've caused you. Please forgive me..." It felt wonderful, Fire Storm's muzzle to mine, but I still felt awkward. He thought I was his mother...but this felt so good, so full of affection...

Fire Storm moved his muzzle down to my neck, slowly nuzzling it and working his hands around my body. God, that felt good...I let out a little moan of pleasure, throwing my head back a little and exposing more of my neck to him. It'd been so long since I felt this...

"Let me show you my love for you, Phoenix. Let me heal the wounds I've caused..." Now he was licking my neck... a surge of pleasure ran through me, affecting all my senses. I could feel the sincerity of his words, the love in his voice. I'd loved him for so long, and now, after all this time, it was being returned...

"Fire Storm..." I moaned. "I love you..."

He pulled away from me a little to speak again. "I know, Phoenix, I know..." He started to nuzzle my muzzle again, but this time I returned his nuzzles, wanting to lose myself in his arms forever.

I moved my hands slowly behind him, exploring his muscled back through his shirt. His own were on my sides, holding me still as we nuzzled. For someone who never evolved, his knew how to show his love physically.

I began to lick Fire Storm's cheek, murring softly. He responded in kind, licking my cheeks and stroking my sides. I slowly pressed myself to him, feeling two emotions I hadn't been able to express in years boiling to the surface; desire, and even more important, love.

Fire Storm slowly broke away again, but I wasn't sure why at first. Then I realized he was removing his shirt. Smiling at me, he said, "This will just get in the way..."

I was quickly back in Fire Storm's arms while we began licking at each other's muzzles. My hands were between us, running through his thick chest fur and feeling the muscle underneath. His strong hands were behind me, one holding my head still as the other slowly stroked my back, causing my tail to wag wildly underneath my robe.

Suddenly Fire Storm started to force his weight on me. I tried to keep upright, but soon I was falling backwards onto the bed, with him on top of me. Having stopped licking when we fell, Fire Storm rose to a crawl above me, his muzzle hovering inches... centimeters from mine.

"Fire Storm..." I said with a little whimper. "Please, don't stop...ever. Be here with me forever..."

"Whatever you want, my love..." he said before turning his head to the side, locking his muzzle to mine in a deep kiss. This time I willingly accepted it, kissing back as he placed his weight on top of me.

I wrapped my legs around Fire Storm, ankles crossing just above the base of his tail. His hands explored my body, feeling my mostly bare thighs and slowly moving ever higher. My instincts were starting to become undeniable as I ground my hips into him, rocking with his movements.

When his hands brushed the sides of my breasts, I moaned, almost breaking our kiss. When he saw I wasn't stopping him, he began to feel all over them, stroking with a touch so gentle, yet so strong...

He slowly broke our kiss, but as soon as he left his kissed down my muzzle, moving his way down my neck. I relaxed my hold on him with my legs, knowing and wanting what he wanted. His muzzle worked it way down my neck to my chest. My robe didn't cover my breasts totally, and I soon felt his warm tongue and muzzle kissing and licking at what was exposed. I gasped at the huge amounts of pleasure running through me. How I longed to be touched like this again...

When he covered all of the bare parts of my chest, he moved back up to me. I thought he was finished, until I felt his hands working the knot on the strap of my robe.

I'm sorry, Phoenix..." he said as he undid the knot. "But I can't allow such beauty to be kept hidden..."

He slowly parted the folds, removing the clothes I no longer wanted; no longer needed...

"Oh Fire Storm... that feels so good..." Feeling his paws all over my bare body, caressing, stroking, feeling... I was in heaven...

Of course, then I woke up for real.

I looked around, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and whimpering when I realized I was still on the couch. It was a good thing Xavier had gone to work; besides the fact that he might have been watching his mother getting off in her sleep, I'd accidentally shifted into my Hybrid form. The shirt and skirt I was wearing were not meant to fit my Hybrid self, so now they clung tightly around my chest and thighs. Hoping nobody had noticed me moaning and shifting earlier, I hurried upstairs and changed into a larger shirt and pair of jeans that fit much better.

What time was it?...four-thirty. Hmm; Xavier will still take some time to get home. He had a long shift today due to all the trainers who would be rushing in to get late vaccinations or treating Pokémon who'd gotten sick in the cold weather, so I'd be free to walk around in Hybrid form for at least a few hours. There were no chores to get done; one of benefits of having so many people in one house is that I'd rarely have to do any work myself.

I thought back to the dream I just had... God, I so wanted that to be real. Me and Fire Storm together, as lovers and mates... an idea suddenly sprung into my mind. Chris had mentioned before he'd learned a bit about dream interpretation and psychology while he was working for his medical degree; perhaps he could help me find something in my dream that may help me figure out how to cure Fire Storm of his thoughts of me being his mother, or at least give me an idea of why he would think that at all in the first place. After a little hesitation realizing I had nothing to lose, I went back downstairs to find Chris.

I found him in his room with Andrea; he was attempting to teach their kids how to stalk by having one try to sneak up on the other while their back was turned while she watched. After having spent some time with her, I've gotten the feeling that Andrea doesn't fully approve of Chris teaching Spike Fur and Brave Stalker how to hunt and kill, but they seem to have an agreement about it, and I don't feel right to be telling anybody how to raise their kids.

"Chris?" I poked my head through the door a little, watching the pair of children becoming bored with hunting and having more fun jumping all around while Chris tried unsuccessful to keep them focused. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Cassie? Sure; I'll be out there in a minute..."

"Alright; I'll be in the living room." I could hear Chris trying in vain to get his kids to calm down, then came out, letting Andrea try to settle them.

"So..." Chris hopped up on the far end of the couch and sat to face me. "What's on your mind, Cassie?"

"A lot... I hope you're comfortable; this could take a while..."

So I began to tell the whole story; about me finding out about Fire Storm's thoughts of me, about my attempt to discuss it with him, and my dream of him I just had. He listened patiently through it all, though I thought he seemed a touch too interested in the part of my dream where Fire Storm and I began to become intimate, so I quickly ended my description around there.

"Can you help me at all Chris? There's so many things going on; I have no idea where to begin."

"I'll do what I can...this certainly is a big mess that needs to get sorted out. I wish you'd come to me earlier."

I whimpered a little and looked away from Chris's gaze. "I know... but I wanted to help Fire Storm myself; to show him how much I care for him. Everything's just gone horribly wrong since I found Serena's sweater in the car..."

"In the van, you mean?"

"No; the car Fire Storm and I use to go out on our jobs. I found it in the back seat about two weeks ago after I came to the Center early. I don't know how it could've gotten there unless Serena had been with Fire Storm; that's when I started prying into his life a little more. I... I think Serena's been dating him."

"Dating him? But isn't she dating your son?"

I nodded, feeling the anger boiling up that I first felt when I thought about that rising up again. It wasn't enough for that cheating harlot to be involved with my only child; she has to try and take the only other man in my life? I still haven't confronted her about it, but just thinking of her, lying against Xavier one moment and in Fire Storm's arms the next, makes my blood boil.

"Do... is it possible that maybe because Fire Storm's dating Serena when she's supposed to be with Xavier... do you think that's why Fire Storm thinks I'm his mother?"

"It's _possible_, but it's probably just a symptom of the main problem. You really need to talk to him in person about this to get at the root of the problem. Going through his e-mails and chatting with his buddies must've really scared him."

"I know, I know; I've been kicking myself for it ever since..." A little whimper escaped my throat. "I thought Fire Storm would be such a good father figure for Xavier; now he thinks he _is_ Xavier."

Chris didn't say anything for a moment, then suddenly shifted to a different subject. "Cassie... this may not be my place to butt in, but... if Xavier's a human, the idea of having a Hybrid father alone will probably be a big shock to him; finding out that you're a Hybrid too is just going to make that worse. Do you really think it'll be good for him to go through something like that?"

At first I didn't say anything; I still didn't have an answer to that dilemma myself. I'd always like to think that Xavier would truly understand and accept the idea of having Hybrid parents. There would be some rough spots to work out, I'm sure, but in the end I was sure things would be for the better. Of course, Xavier probably would be extremely upset for being lied to about his birth father, and the secret his mother's been hiding, as well as the other guy she wishes she could be dating...

"I'm sure it'd be hard at first... but Xavier's a very good kid, and the interaction he and Fire Storm have had seems to me like they get along well together. Xavier might be sort of open to the idea of Fire Storm as his Dad."

"I see... but have you seen them together yourself? How could you be really sure of what Fire Storm's just told you?"

"But he hasn't told me; I've seen them together at the Center before, talking about sports and politics and other things; they seem to get along very well." Chris didn't say anything; he just sort of stared at me for the longest time. "Is there something wrong with that?..."

"You've seen them together before? You're positive?"

"Of course; I may be a canine, but my sight is still good...why?"

"Nothing..." Chris glanced at the clock quickly. "Um; I gotta go... talk to Andrea. I... gotta make sure we got gifts for everyone. Can we talk later?"

"Sure, I guess..." With that, Chris took off like a shot back to the bedroom. What was the sudden hurry? Did I say something wrong?

I wanted to know what Chris was up to, but he'd hear me if I tried to sneak closer to hear better, and I was probably just over-reacting. Being a bounty hunter would make you a bit suspicious and edgy, too.

With a sigh, I got up, remembering there was still a few things I had to pick up myself for Christmas. No time like the present, I thought as I gathered my keys and coat. I returned to my human form in the van; it's a little less creepy than shifting to Hybrid form, but it's still weird. Feeling my body shrinking a little, knowing that my bones were shrinking and altering shape slightly, my chest shrinking down back to a less male-attracting size, my muzzle melting back into my face, my fur receding into my skin like a video of grass growing in reverse... if I had been born a Hybrid, it probably wouldn't be disturbing at all, but to me it's just a little creepy.

Almost as quickly as it started, it was over. My clothes felt a bit looser on me now, but they weren't about to fall off. With a sigh, I put the van in reverse and backed out of the driveway.

The trip up to the mall was uneventful, other than watching one fool doing about 90 in a 55 and almost losing control when he hit black ice; I don't know how he kept the car on the road. People these days...

The mall was packed, as I should have expected. Serves me right waiting till the last minute before doing this and wasting all my time sitting by the phone waiting for Fire Storm to call... I shook those memories for my head and began to wade through the crowds.

Let me make one thing clear now; I've noticed Xavier tends to be a very impatient person, and I have no doubt he inherited that from me. If I'm not actively doing something, I get frustrated and annoyed very easily. Before Xavier's friends and Fire Storm, I would've had my Christmas shopping done the week after Thanksgiving so it could be done and over with, maybe running out once or twice for something that's not available until later. Now, with the mall packed to the point of bursting and lines that seemed longer than some rivers, my limits were being tested. I've often told Xavier not to bring his Game Boy or books to events or places where there will be long, dull periods of time, while at the same time kicking myself for not doing something similar for fear of not looking like a responsible parent.

It was about the third line I'd been in that night, picking up some games for Xavier that I had thankfully reserved, when I heard the cell phone ring. I quickly glanced at my phone Xavier knows to call me at, saw it wasn't ringing and went back to waiting. The phone continued to ring and ring, and it was starting to grind at my nerves. Couldn't they just answer the phone?! About the seventh ring, I felt I was going to snap when the person behind me tapped me on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" It was a human woman, a nice looking blond hair woman about my age. "Could you please answer you phone? It's very loud to listen to."

"My phone? It's not mine..." I started to say, then listened carefully. It did seem like it was coming from my purse, but that's where my, "business" phone is, and the only person who has that number is Fire Storm; why would he?...

My hand dove into my purse like a shot, even though the phone was silent now. It didn't matter what he was calling me about; he was calling me! By the time I finally found the phone, a message blinked on the screen, confirming I'd missed the call.

"No... I-I can't have missed him..." A gasp escaped me, and a tear started to form in the corner of my eye. I missed him; maybe my only chance to hear his voice again; this couldn't have happened... I would've lost it right there in the middle of Electronics Bureau if I hadn't noticed that there was a voice-mail message left. It took a few minutes for my trembling thumb to get to the voice mailbox and play the message, and I almost dropped the phone trying to listen to what Fire Storm said.

"Hi Phoenix... I'm sorry about everything; I've been a real bonehead. I know you're not my mother now, and I really need to talk to you. Perhaps we could do it over dinner tomorrow? I've reserved a place at the Barn Sider for us for tomorrow night at six. Please come... I really miss you..."

I almost melted right there; hearing Fire Storm's voice; so sincere and apologetic, wanting to speak to me... the only thing that could've been any better is if I'd actually gotten the phone on time and spoken to him directly, but this was enough. He sounded a little strange over the phone, but it was definitely him. Maybe... maybe now I can make things right again between us and get a fresh start. Then we can be happy together...

"Ma'am? Ma'am! I can take you over here!" The poor clerk who looked barely any older than Xavier called to me, the somewhat shrill voice penetrating the haze of my daydream. I glanced over at the clerk, then back at the long, angry line behind me and decided that I could find a better spot to daydream later.

The rest of my trip to the mall was uneventful, though I did walk into a rack of clothes in Orange Republic while I was thinking about Fire Storm again. After that, I kept my mind off him long enough to get myself through the rest of the mall and home without anymore incidents. There was nobody in the house when I came back, which was a real shock; there's always _somebody_ home nowadays. Some extra help would've been nice with all the bags, but it was easy enough to haul all the bags upstairs.

Finally having gotten everything upstairs, I surveyed the task before me and sighed. Buying them all was one thing; most of the stores wouldn't gift wrap, so the task fell on me to do that. This could take some time...

Crreeeeaaaakkk...

"Hello?... Xavier?..."

Serena... Hearing the sound of the front door opening and her voice, my first reaction was to order her out of my house and never to come back; the second was to do the same as I physically threw her out of the house. I forced myself to take a few deep breaths as she continued to call out for Xavier, trying to keep what little cool I had left after my trip to the mall. I had to at least give her a chance to explain herself; to explain everything. Maybe I was just jumping to conclusions before when I accused her of cheating on Xavier with Fire Storm... besides; if I was right, I could always throw her out afterward

Closing the door to my room quietly behind me, I walked down the stairs slowly. Serena was sitting on the couch, her tails swishing slightly behind her as she pawed through a magazine on the table. She turned toward me as I landed on the bottom step, smiling a little.

"Hello Ms. Canin; is Xavier home? We're supposed to go out for dinner; I thought he was supposed to be done with work by now..."

"Hello Serena; no, he's not home yet." I glanced quickly at the clock by the T.V; Xavier should've been home by now, but Joy probably kept him for a few minutes more than he was scheduled. "He'll probably be back any minute."

"O.K. You don't mind if I wait here for him, do you?"

"Not at all... I've been meaning to talk to you, Serena."

"You have?" She seemed confused. "Um, do you want to talk about Xavier?"

"Well... yes and no..." No point in dancing around the subject. "How do you know Fire Storm?"

"Fire Storm?" I detected a slight wavering in her voice, and I thought she looked concerned for a moment, but it vanished before I could be certain. "H-How do _you_ know about him?"

"I asked you first..."

"We went to school together for a little while... I talk with him online a lot; sometimes we hang out together. I don't know what that has to do with me and Xavier..."

"It has to do a lot with him when you're cheating with him on my son!"

"What?!" Serena sounded genuinely shocked, but I wasn't going to believe her that easily. "I-I love Xavier; I would never cheat on him..."

"I found your sweater in Fire Storm's car, Serena."

"Sweater?... I-I think I forgot one in there when we went out to see a movie together a few weeks ago..."

"I could smell perfume on it; L'Essence de Rouge, I believe. That scent is very expensive; not something a woman would wear out on a night with someone who's just a, 'friend'."

"Well... I-I... how do _you_ know about Fire Storm, Ms. Canin?" Serena was clearly on the defensive here, trying to divert my attention away from the real issue. Still, I blushed and looked away from her, realizing I hadn't thought to explain how I could possibly know about Fire Storm myself without giving away my big secrets.

"T-That's none of your business..." I quickly tried to reassert control of this conversation. "You've been cheating on my son with an adult man, and in turn you're making Fire Storm sick!"

"Sick? He was fine when I saw him last. I don't know what you're talking about, Ms. Canin."

"He's mentally sick... he thinks he's Xavier! He thinks I'm his mother! He needs help, but you're just making things worse! By dating you when you're only supposed to be dating my son, he's beginning to think he _is_ my son! What other explanation could you possibly think of?!"

"I...I-I..." She didn't have an answer; she knew she was wrong. I got up and started towards the stairs, turning back to her at the bottom step.

"I won't tell Xavier you've been lying to him, only because it will shatter his heart. I want you to stay away from Fire Storm as well; you've done enough damage to everyone already..."

With that, I turned my back and headed up the stairs, leaving Serena numb with shock on the couch. My anger had reached the boiling point, and as a result I'd bought it all out on her. It was hard for me to feel sorry for her after what she'd done to Fire Storm; what she'd done to my relationship with him... she deserved what she got. I told myself this as I closed the door to my room, sniffs and sobs rising up from downstairs. I kept telling myself that as I locked the door, trying to block out the sound. I kept telling myself that even as my own sobs joined hers and my eyes began to swell up with tears, feeling petty even as I told myself I'd done the right thing. I kept telling myself that, and yet I couldn't believe a word of it.

From the diary of Cassie Canin, Arcanine Hybrid

12/24/01- Tonight's the big night; Fire Storm should be meeting me at the Barn Sider, then we can start over... maybe everything can start over; Xavier could have a father, I could have a husband, Serena would be more loyal to Xavier... she'd recovered by the time Xavier had come home, but she didn't say anything to him, and they left on their date as planned... I really hope she does love him. Sigh Such a nice way to spend the holidays; every little thing that could go wrong is. Hopefully, after tonight things will get much, much better; they certainly can't get much worse.

It was sort of a dull Christmas Eve day; Xavier and I never do anything really special anyway, but... in anticipation of what was going to happen tonight, the day just seemed to kind of crawl by. I spent most of the day trying to decide how I was going to tell Xavier why we weren't going to be able to spend Christmas Eve dinner together like we always do. He solved that problem for me, which was both a shock and a relief.

"Mom?" Xavier came to me as I was doing some work on the computer. I keep up with my old job as a day trader; a cover to keep Xavier from getting involved in my real work. Right now I only have a few small stocks I worry about, but there's still work to be done, even when the market's closed.

"What is it, dear?"

"Listen... do you mind if Serena and I go out for dinner tonight? I've got a really nice place in Oldburgh I wanna take her to..."

"What?" Xavier's made every important family event he can; now he was trying to get out of one? If it had been anyone besides Serena, I wouldn't have hesitated.

"I know it's Christmas Eve and all, but... I wanna do something special for her. It's the perfect night to do it too... I'll stay if you want, but I really wanna do this with her."

"I..." A part of me wanted to tell him; explain everything to him, why he should dump Serena immediately before she can break his heart and give him pain he doesn't need... but it would also mean I wouldn't have to make up my own excuse to go see Fire Storm tonight, and if I said no he'd start asking tough questions. "I don't mind dear; you should go and enjoy your time with Serena."

Xavier smiled, hugging me gently. "Thanks Mom; you're the best. I promise I'll be bugging you first thing Christmas morning like I always do to open presents."

I hugged him back, trying to quiet the voice in my head telling me to let him know, stop hiding secrets from him and be open with him at last...instead, I faked a smile. "I'm certain you will dear. I'll be looking forward to it."

"O.K., Mom." He let go, looking at the time. "I better go double check and make sure I've got everything ready for tonight; see you later." With that, he went into his room, and I could hear him sifting through the clothes in his closet, trying to find the appropriate outfit to wear for his big night.

It was then I decided for certain; after tonight, all the secrets are done with. It was well past time for me to tell Xavier everything... but I still had tonight to focus on. Hopefully I can get the little voice in my head to shut up long enough to let me think about how I was going to handle my dinner with Fire Storm.

All the minor details about the dinner were taken care of; what time to leave the house, what time to arrive at the restaurant, what to wear... what the hell was I going to say, though? We couldn't exactly have a meal in silence; not after what we'd been through already. I should start off by apologizing, definitely... I tried a million different options after that, each one seemingly worse than the one before it, and when the kitchen clock read 5p.m., I still hadn't thought of any answers. With Xavier gone and me in Hybrid form and dressed to go, I got into the van and began to drive to the Barn Sider.

The ride there only gave me more time to dwell on all the possible outcomes of tonight and all the ways it could go wrong. Being a bounty hunter has forced me to always try and make a plan, a backup plan, and an emergency escape if the first two don't work, but I couldn't even get an idea of what I was going to do or say when I got there. At least I knew the dress I picked out would be right; I wore a long, one piece black dress made of a fine silk; it was a little tight around my legs, but it went down almost to my knees, showed a minimal amount of my chest, and the shoulder straps were firmly in place, so Fire Storm shouldn't worry about me wanting to get too friendly with him. I still wanted to hit myself in the head for ever even thinking that flirting and trying to seduce him was the way to go; he's a male, but he's no fool for his tool, especially since he's unevolved. The fact that he thought I was his mother just made it seem phenomenally stupid in hindsight.

The ride to the Barn Sider took a little over a half hour, but after trying to find parking in the crowded lot, I got inside with only a few minutes to spare. A blond woman in her late twenties was at the reservation table when I approached.

"Excuse me; I have a reservation. Canin? Phoenix Canin?" I asked hopefully, praying Fire Storm thought to include my name when he made the reservation.

"Canin... Canin... yes; here it is." She smiled at me as she grabbed a menu. "Follow me please, ma'am."

She led me over to a table by a window; my heart sunk a little when I didn't see Fire Storm in either of the two chairs, but I was still early. I took a seat and sipped the water, looking over the top of the menu every ten seconds toward the door for him to come in. Each passing second was like water torture; each little bit nothing by itself, but over time it begins to drive you nuts.

Thirty seconds... a minute... two minutes... two and a half minutes... three minutes... it seemed like time was moving so slow, at one point I thought I saw the minute hand go backwards. Fire Storm hadn't even come in yet and I wasn't sure I could last; what hope would I have of making it through the actual dinner?

I sighed heavily; where was he? If he didn't come soon, I thought as my eyes wandered toward the window, I'm gonna... that's when it all happened. The small red line of light on the window, pointing at my head, the glass of the window shattering as a large, strong person tackled me from my chair, landing on top of me as we both landed on the ground, glass spreading out in a small shower around us, people screaming and diving to the floor...

_Sniper!_

My vision was a little blurry from the hard landing on the ground, but I felt strong, firm hands around me... so comforting and gentle, yet firm. It could only be Fire Storm, and he just saved my life... I kissed his muzzle softly, wanting to tell him everything right then and there, wanting to never let go, wanting to kiss his dark blue muzzle and love him forev...dark blue muzzle?

"_RICK?!"_

Rick looked very embarrassed as my vision focused again, though not nearly as much as I felt. He quickly moved off me, sliding down beside me while keeping low.

"Phoenix, we need to get out of here. They're handling things outside, but we don't know how many there are..."

"We?" I shook my head; no time for questions now. I dug a hand into my purse and activated the pressure lock on the bottom, opening the false bottom as I pulled out my Kolt Arbok, reaching in with my other hand and pulling out the appropriate Magnum rounds already in their speed loader and slipped them into the cylinder before snapping the cylinder closed. I prefer less lethal weapons for the job, but when it comes to self defense good old fashioned bullets do a better job than anything else.

All the windows we're being shot out as the sniper... no; snipers, plural... we're trying to flush us out. At least the other people had enough sense to stay down and not try to be a hero. Rick was brandishing a nine-millimeter of some sort as he cautiously peeked up through the broken window.

"We need to get out of here; now!" Rick fired a few shots blindly out the window, trying to use the laser sights to trace them back to the snipers. "What're they doing out there?!"

"What's who doing, Rick?!" I yelled back, quickly leaping up and shooting as close to the snipers as I could before ducking back down.

"Um... you know, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. This one book I'm reading now, about how those tests they've used to test for Hybrid DNA have been lately proven to be rather inaccurate... lots of Hybrids are out there that people assume are humans because of those bad tests..."

"What?!" We're in the middle of a shoot-out, and he's talking about reading material? I sighed to myself, hoping he at least kept it together enough to remember who the bad guys were.

"Yeah; scientists had to eyeball the results on their own, but they knew what the results we're expected to be ahead of time, and there was a lot of discussion about how that could've screwed up the final results..."

"If you say so, Rick." There was a loud sound from outside; it reminded me of the boom when a shotgun goes off. One of the lasers suddenly went off a moment later; it sounded like we had some help after all.

"I figured you want to know about this Phoenix, hint hint! It relates a lot to something... er, someone, that is... someone important in your life! I can't stand keeping it from you now!"

"Someone important to me?..." Aggh! I couldn't think about this now! A large flash of light and a boom sounded from outside, followed quickly by a loud yelp of pain. The other light that was searching for us went off. "Looks like we're clear; let's get out of here!"

Rick nodded and followed me as we both stayed low, moving passed stunned patrons on our way out. Everybody was more than happy to let us go as we reached the front door. Rick started to rush foolishly outside, but before I could yell at him I saw a large, gray van Fire Storm and I use when we go undercover or need to carry a large load of supplies with us. He dove in through a side door, and after a moment's look around, he waved me in.

"Come on Phoenix; coast is clear!" With a nod, I ran quickly into the van and found, much to my surprise, Andrea behind the wheel.

"Andrea?! What are you doing here?!"

"I'd like to explain Cassie, but now's not a good time..."

"Alright Andrea; we need to meet him down the road. Let's go!" Chris?!

"What in God's green Earth is going on here?! Somebody please explain to me right now what all of you are doing here!" I exclaimed, trying to put together this puzzle that kept having pieces added to it as time went on.

"Now's not really a good time, Phoenix!" Rick reached past me and slammed the door shut. "O.K Andrea; let's get out of here!."

Andrea pressed the gas to the floor and the van quickly sped off, Rick strapping himself into a seat and me following suit. It seemed like everything was safe, but I kept my Arbok cocked and ready, just in case.

We only went a few hundred feet before stopping at the bottom of the road. I started to ask what was going on, but Rick shook his head.

"I'm sorry but I'm not gonna be the one to tell you, Cassie. In fact, he and Darkelf should be back at any second..."

"Who Rick? Will somebody please give me a straight answer?!" I turned my back to the door for a moment, only to hear someone pulling on the handle outside the second I did. I turned back quickly as the door opened, Arbok pointed and ready, pointing it directly into the chest of...

_XAVIER?!_

"Whoa!" He jumped back a little when he saw the gun. "Watch where you're pointing that thing, Mom!"

I lowered it after a moment, more out of shock then anything else. He climbed into the back seat, and DarkElf, as I had come to know him, hustled in quickly behind him.

"Hello Ms. Canin," he said with a nod, buckling in. "Perhaps we could talk under more pleasant circumstances later, but right now, we should probably get out of here."

A nod was all I could return in response. Xavier had a shotgun in his hands, but when he pulled out the remaining shells it was clear that they were beanbag rounds. At least he wasn't killing anyone without my knowledge... I hoped.

No one much of anything the whole ride. I kept glancing back at Xavier for answers, but he kept shaking his head while looking around at the others; that look said, "Let's wait till we get somewhere a little more private", and I really had no other option but to wait.

"So, what took you so long with you guy?" Xavier asked Darkelf. "I had to get close with the shotgun; you should've been able to get your guy from farther out."

"My guy _was_ farther away, and your shotgun drew his attention just before I attacked. I had to struggle with him for a bit before I could shock him. You dropped a flare for the cops to find them later, right?" Xavier nodded. "Good then..."

And that was the end of the only conversation for the whole trip home.

When we finally reached the house, everyone scrambled out of the van. Rick muttered something about having to go see Raichel, Chris and Andrea retreated to their rooms, and Darkelf went to go fill in the girls who'd stayed behind in Amber's room. In an instant, me and Xavier we're left sitting in the van alone.

"So... how was dinner?" Xavier asked with a weak laugh. I smiled weakly in return.

"It was O.K before the lead starting flying..." I looked down, sighed heavily and looked back up. "We both have a lot of explaining to do..."

"We do... maybe you should start."

"I should start... right..." With a large sigh, I began. "Well, as you can obviously tell, I'm not a human..."

"Obviously... you know, maybe I should start. I already know pretty much everything you're gonna tell me, so let's just save us some time... um, there's no rope anywhere in this car, is there?"

"Rope? Um, no, I don't think so..."

"And that dress you're wearing... there's no sharp pins to hold it on or anything, right?"

"No; why such strange questions?"

"You'll understand in a minute, Mom..." With that, Xavier closed his eyes, not doing anything. I watched him curiously; what could he possibly be up to?

I watched for a few moments; the way he sat so still, like he was concentrating... what could he be thinking about? Actually, it kind of reminded me of how I think I look when I'm preparing...to... shift...

"No..." It couldn't be... That's not fur growing on his arm there; it's just a trick of the light... and he's not getting larger... his face isn't pushing out into a muzzle... you're just imagining it. "No, no, no..."

I had to look away then, trying to deny the fact that the son, the child I loved wasn't turning into the man I loved, even as my eyes were confirming it. So many things I'd questioned before made sense now; why Xavier always looked so tired after Fire Storm and I had been out long nights, why he's never had to ask me to borrow money even when Joy was giving him only a few hours a week, how his Pokémon always told me how he was but wouldn't let me see him myself... but then there were still so many other questions I had...

"Mom?..." I slowly turned back to look at the face of my lo... my son, blinking back tears. "Are you alright?..."

"Alright?..." A weak smile was all I could manage. "I think alright is about the only thing I'm not right now."

Xavier whimpered a little. "I-I'm so sorry, Mom... I never meant to do it like this..."

"No; please don't apologize. I... I wanted to be loved again so badly by another male after your father left... I heard you tell me so many times you weren't looking for a relationship with me, but I always thought that if we just gave it a little more time, something might happen between us..." It was my turn to whimper when I shook my head. "But I don't understand... I had a blood test done for you years ago; they said you were human..."

"Yeah, about that... the matches for Hybrid DNA had to be done by plain sight way back then; they weren't nearly as exact as they are now. I found a letter in your room from the lab where you had the test done; there was a warning about the results not being a hundred accurate. Guess you must've been so relieved with what you saw you missed that."

I nodded a little. "I-I guess...but why? Why didn't you ever tell me?" There was no response for what seemed like forever. "Xavier?"

"Mom... listen; I gotta get all my cards out on the table here. I... I'm not really your son."

"What?" He just got through telling me he was my son, and now he's denying it. My head was starting to ache. "I don't understand this at all..."

That's when Xavier explained everything to me; about the Game Boy adaptor, the transfer to this world, his struggles to fit in and understand this world, how he made up Hybrids... It sounded absolutely insane, but what reason did he have to lie? It would explain his bad memory recently of past events and family history... but one question was unanswered.

"Xavier...If you're not my son, then where is?..."

Xavier shook his head before I could finish. "I've thought about this myself; I really don't know. Maybe he took my place in my world, maybe he's in a totally different one...he could be anywhere."

"Anywhere?..." Just when I thought I'd found my child again, he was even farther away than I could've imagined. I wanted to puke, cry, punch something, and a million other things all at once. Being unsure of what to do first was the only thing that kept me still.

There was a long, awkward silence for a while. This person had gone from lover to child to stranger in about two minute. Xavier finally broke the silence.

"Listen... I know this is awkward for you Phoenix, but... I really don't know what I'm doing here. I'm confused, lost, without my family or lots of my old friends. I need somebody to help me, guide me... I need a Mom..."

Xavier continued as I looked at him with a mix of shock and confusion. "Look, it's not like we've despised every moment we've spent together or anything; we've had a really good relationship. Does that really have to end now?"

"I guess not, but..." This was so fast; I just wanted to hit the pause button on time and think about what was going on. Having my son back was exactly what I wanted right now. True; I could use a few million things right now, but being with my son again ranked toward the top.

"Well..." I reached out and stroked Xavier's head lightly. "I could use a son... I think I can get used to this."

Xavier smiled broadly. "Thank you Phoe...er, Mom..." Xavier reached over and gave me a huge, loving hug; one I quickly returned. It wasn't quite the relationship I had hoped for, but far be it from me to turn it down.

We held each other for a few moments, just enjoying each others embrace. As I started to wonder if we'd ever let go, Xavier started to pant. It was nothing at first, but soon he was really breathing hard. He let go and I pulled back a little, worried.

"Xavier? Do you feel sick?..."

"I-I dunno..." He started to fan himself a little, and his fur started getting slick from his heavy sweating. "Feels like I'm burning up... and this isn't just typical fire stuff; feels like my blood's boiling..."

With a whimper, I put a paw on his arm. "You must be getting sick; we should get you inside..."

Xavier shook his head frantically. "Not gonna make it...feel weird... feel tense, nervous; not sick, though..." He curled up into his seat, looking somewhat ill despite his claims.

"Come on, Xavier; this isn't any place for you to be sick..." He still insisted he didn't feel sick, just strange. Something was most definitely wrong, though. From what he was describing, it sounded like he was... but he couldn't be... could he?...

"M-mom?...W-why are you smiling like that?..."

"Xavier..." I reached out and stroked his head, whispering soothingly. "It's O.K; just let it go..."

"L-Let what g-go?"

"Your evolution."

"W-WHAT!!"

Xavier fur began to glisten before I could respond. The glistening quickly picked up until it turned into a bright glow, at which point I had to shield my eyes.

I couldn't tell exactly what was happening, but from the sound of something being torn I figured he was getting larger. The changes took place relatively slowly, for the glow didn't stop till almost a minute later. When it did I slowly lower my arm, then looked in awe at my son.

"Whoa..." was Xavier's response when he saw what happened. That about summed up my thoughts. He'd grown taller, somewhere just under 7 feet. His muzzle had extended a bit more, and his once short white hair now hung around his shoulders. It was hard to see exact details through his now tight clothes, but he'd also become a bit more muscular. Also hard to miss were the large tufts of white fur coming from his elbows and angles, flowing backwards almost magically even in the still air of the van. As his light green eyes looked over his changed body, I could see an occasional wince and twitch as he tried to adjust to his constrictive clothes.

"Xavier?... A-Are you O.K?..." I asked, concerned about what his reaction would be. Occasionally, the rush immediately after an evolution causes a Hybrid or Pokémon to act irrationally, and years of bounty hunting have taught me to not keep my guard down against anyone, no matter how calm they appear.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine...except for this..." Xavier took off his shirt, his elongated, pointed ears slowly flopping back into place when the shirt cleared his head. Blushing a little, I had a full view now of my son's very fit body. His fur helped to outline the large, firm looking bulges on his arms and his well rounded shoulders. The white fur of his muzzle continued down the front of his neck and covered most of his chest, leaving the edges and just around his half-hidden nipples an orangish color. About halfway down his biceps and forearms were jagged black strips of fur that covered about 80% of his arm, stopping toward the back. Another strip could be seen across the back of his neck, and two more were on his torso area, one that went around just below and to the side of his chest and around his back to the other side, and one even in the middle of his stomach, this one going almost all the way around, with about a index finger's length of orange fur right in the middle of his stomach separating them. There were some definite bumps and curves under his chest and stomach fur, making it harder to forget about my previous attraction to him.

"Xavier...you look very se... er, handsome..." I managed to get out, catching myself from a really embarrassing situation.

"Thank you..." He looked a little embarrassed. "Um... can we continue this inside after I get a shirt on?..."

I nodded quickly. "Yes; of course..." We both got out quickly and heading inside; Xavier ran upstairs to his room while I waited for him downstairs in the living room.

I sighed heavily as I waited for Xavier; for someone who may not really be my son, he reminded me of Blaze a lot...I might as well tell him about his, "father" too; this Christmas season the gifts we seemed to be giving were answers to deep secrets...

Xavier came back down quickly in one of his larger sweatshirts; even that looked a little small now, as he kept having to pull it down to cover a bit of his stomach that was showing.

"Looks like I'm gonna need a wardrobe update, huh?" he said with a shy little smile. I chuckled a little and nodded in agreement, then sighed. Here we go...

"Xavier; there's something I have to tell you... it's about your father. Well, not _your_ father, but my sons father... even though you are going to be my son now, it's not..."

"I get it, Mom; don't get flustered... continue"

"Right... anyway, your father was, is... well, to be blunt, a science project."

"A what?"

"A science project... he was an experimental weapon created by a group of scientists trying to make a super-solider; a being without emotions like fear and doubt that could be considered handicaps on the battlefield..."

"They use that plotline in a lot of comic books and cartoons too; always seems kinda cheesy to me..."

I nodded. "Yes, but it would be valuable if it could be done. They failed with Blaze; that was your father's name...during one of his training sessions, he took a hard hit from a Rhydon. The scientists in charge of him had a metal collar on him that could deliver severe electrical shocks; severe enough to kill a human. They'd done tons of work with his genetics to make him a physically superior Arcanine Hybrid, so the collar didn't kill him, but it did almost paralyze him... anyway, the Rhydon hit him hard right in the neck, and _that _nearly killed him... but it also damaged the collar enough that Blaze could rip it off. He finished the session, then broke the collar and broke out of the facility."

"Wow... what happened after that?"

"Well, your father had no memories. He knew how do things like drive a car and talk and things like that, but personal memories of family or friends... he didn't have any. We don't know if he just simply lost them, or if he never really had them..."

"So, basically your saying that grandma and grandpa, for all you know, are test tubes?"

"I guess you could put it like that... your father knew what was happening to him was bad, and he wanted to do good, but he also knew that he couldn't make a living just being a vigilante, so he did the next best thing; bounty hunting."

"I guess that would explain how you got into bounty hunting then... but how did the two of you meet?"

"When we were both on the job, actually. I was working at a small investment firm when Blaze first came in; he was attempting to find someone who'd be suspected of insider trading. I was the one in charge of managing his portfolio, so Blaze came to me. We worked together for a long time, and we became rather close during that time... I felt we had something, and when Blaze asked me out to dinner after he'd caught the guy, I knew he felt something for me too. Oh sure, he said it was just his way to say thanks for all my help, but we both knew otherwise."

"Wow...sounds like you and Dad we're really close..."

I nodded slowly. "We were in love. We'd been together for over a year before Blaze told me about what he was and what had happened to him. I was shocked, obviously... but I loved him too much to let something like that effect our relationship."

"Right..." Here comes the obvious, yet hardest question to answer, I thought to myself. "So, where is he now?..."

"He's...I-I don't know..." I saw the look Xavier was giving me and sighed. "He didn't abandon us, if that's what you're thinking..."

"Right..."

"I mean it... your father made a lot of enemies, all of who wanted him and anybody close to him dead. One night, before we added the second floor onto the house, we got attacked...it was a drive-by shooting; nobody got hurt, but... I was pregnant with you at the time, and from where the bullets hit... if you'd been born and in where we were going to put your crib, you would've been killed..."

"...Oh..."

"You understand then; he had to leave, to protect me and you...We used to keep in contact as often as we could, but every time we did gave the people hunting him another chance to find him. The last time I heard anything from him was a phone call almost seven years ago, saying he was alright..." I sniffed and blinked back some tears. "I've wanted to tell you for so long..."

"It's O.K Mom..." He reached over and hugged me gently. "He did what he thought was best, for both you and me..."

I nodded solemnly before I couldn't hold back the tears any longer and started to cry, unable to hold back the emotions that'd be building up for years any longer. The waiting for Blaze, hiding the truth from Xavier, almost falling in love with my son, the shock of him knowing all along...Xavier held me gently in his arms while I cried into his shoulder, stroking me softly and encouraging me to let it all out.

After I'd shed the last of my tears and regained control of myself, Xavier let me go. I quickly wiped away a few tears that still clung to my muzzle while Xavier spoke.

"Listen... we've had a rough night. We called the police just before the attack, so they should be handling the guys who tried to attack you tonight, whoever they were. Rick's gonna stay on alert tonight just to make sure we're safe, so we should just get some rest. It is Christmas Eve, after all."

"Yes... yes, you're right." We both got up and slowly made our way upstairs to our rooms. When we reached the top together, we hugged again.

"Goodnight, Xavier..."

"Goodnight, Mom..."

After a few more moments, we both slowly let get of one another and went to our rooms. It's been one hell of a day, I thought to myself as I climbed under the covers slowly. I lose a lover, but regain my son, only to lose him again and gain another...This was all so much. Maybe if I sleep on it, it'll all make more sense in the morning. It was all I could do; I barely even managed to turn off the lamp near my bed before succumbing to sleep.

From the diary of Cassie Canin, Arcanine Hybrid

12/25/01 - It's barely 7 in the morning, but already I can hear the sounds of people tearing away at presents. No present can compare to the one I received last night from Xavier; himself, honest and open. With a new year coming, maybe I could get a fresh start; being a good mother, finding a good man to love, and just being happy. Sure, it won't be easy, but after the struggles I've been through in the past few days, it sounds like a piece of cake for comparison. Anyway, better get down there and see how much of a disaster's been created...

I walked down the stairs slowly in my bathrobe, bits of wrapping paper waiting for me at the bottom step. The living room was a disaster as I'd expected; wrapping paper all over, opened gifts besides the ones who'd received them, Brave Stalker and Spike Fur playing some form of tag, using the mess and people for cover... despite knowing the work that lay ahead, I couldn't help but smile. This was Christmas; I was surrounded by good people, including my son... it just didn't seem right to be in a bad mood. Xavier smiled and patted the space next to him, a pile of gifts which could only be mine next to him.

"Have a seat Mom. Might wanna get busy on those presents; everyone else's pretty much done."

I nodded and took a seat next to Xavier. Serena was seated on his other side, her head laying gently against his shoulder. I started to apologize for the things I'd said about her earlier, what I'd thought of her, but she just smiled and shook her head, as if to say, "It's alright, Ms. Canin. I forgive you."

I nodded and took the first present, starting to unwrap it. I originally thought it'd be the first surprise of the day; turns out it was going to be the 4th. The first was a knock on the door just as soon as I began to undo the ribbon. Everyone looked rather confused.

"Xavier... are you expecting anyone, honey?" Serena asked as she slowly got up.

"No..." He looked around briefly, but it seemed that no one was expecting a visitor. Serena walked to the door and opened it slowly.

"Can I help... oh my!!" Serena quickly backed away as the second surprise, another Ninetales Hybrid, collapsed onto the tile entryway. A few other people, myself included, quickly rushed over.

The Hybrid was a male, golden like a more traditional Ninetales. He was built thin like Serena, wearing an army jacket, a pair of jeans and a white shirt. His hair was somewhat wavy, while his eyes were partially hidden by a pair of glasses. He was taller than Serena by a few inches, maybe 6 foot or so. He wasn't moving as he lay on the cold tile, a light layer of snow atop of him. Xavier knelt down gently to feel for a pulse.

"I don't think he's dead..."

"Of course I'm not."

"What the?!" Xavier stumbled back as the Ninetales quickly jumped to his feet. He brushed off the snow as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"So, how have you guys been? You saved some presents for your good friend Bob, right?"

"Bob... BOB?!" Everyone looked stunned, minus Bob, as Xavier spoke. "But you... Houndoom... blew up...how?!..."

"I changed." Bob responded with a shrug. He walked out of the people surrounding him and to the tree, pausing only for a second to take something wrapped in paper out of his pocket and place it on the coffee table. "So, where are my presents?"

"Presents?! We thought you were dead!"

"And this would prevent me getting presents how?..." Well, he certainly acted like Bob...

"O.K..." I tried to interject some sanity into this. "Maybe you should stop and explain to us what happened, Bob. I'm sure we'd all like to know..."

"OH SWEET EUFFRETIA!"

And that makes surprise number three. Chris was rapidly blowing on his smoking hands; it looked like he'd tried to touch whatever it was Bob took out of his pocket and had burned himself badly. Reacting on instinct, I grabbed Chris and carried him rapidly into the neighboring kitchen, turning on the cold water full blast and shoving the doctor's smoking paws under it. Xavier was right behind me, quickly pulling out a pair of oven mitts from a drawer, then disappearing into the living room quickly and coming back with the object of Chris's pain, tossing it into the sink on the opposite side of Chris.

"Bob! What the hell did you bring into this house?!" I yelled from the kitchen. Xavier grabbed a fork and started to tear at the paper cautiously. Bob appeared in the kitchen doorway.

"Hi, Doc. I dunno; I just noticed it in my pocket a little while ago."

"You just noticed it?! It had to have come from somewhere! I do not want something this dangerous in my house. I want you to this..."

"Everstone?!"

"Everstone and..." I quickly turned to Xavier, placing Chris up on the countertop. "What?"

"It's an Everstone..." He pulled out the mostly unwrapped rock and wiped away some of the soggy bits of paper. There was no way the crystal clear rock with the small circle design in the middle could be mistaken for anything else. Xavier handled it in his bare paws without any sort of reaction.

"I dunno, Chris; think maybe you just over-reacted..." Xavier gave the Everstone to Chris again.

"Maybe you're... ahhh!" Chris tossed the rock back into the sink when his paws started to smoke again, running his paws back under the water. "That really, REALLY hurts!"

I could only watch in disbelief as Serena and others handled the stone without a problem while Bob went back to search for presents. I'd been up for less than ten minutes, and yet I've already seen a person who's supposed to be dead standing in my living room and a Flareon Hybrid who can't handle an Everstone...Xavier looked over and gave me a little smile.

"Well, looks like we've got a gift here that can't be wrapped up; the gift of a very strange life. This gift keeps on giving too..." It was true; most people have a very boring and uneventful life compared to ours. I guess I should be happy to always have some sort of oddity or excitement to keep me on my toes a lot.

I began to think about asking Bob where he'd been again, ask Chris if he knew what was going on, maybe get to my presents...Xavier's quick, tight embrace quickly changed that. He nuzzled my muzzle very gently, a loving, caring nuzzle. Not the kind of love I would've wanted from him before yesterday, but one that was very welcome now.

"Merry Christmas, Mom..." I murred softly and let my nuzzles join his.

"Merry Christmas, Xavier..."

Hello everyone; it's Phoenix again. Xavier's just crawled off to bed, and has asked me to extend his apologies for the severe lateness of the finishing of the chapter. He's very, very, very, very, very, _very_ sorry for the extreme lateness. He has sworn it'll never happen again, and Serena's promised to make sure he doesn't. I'm not sure you want to know how she's going to do that; I know I don't. He's also apologized for not having anybody new added, but during the holiday period, he just simply couldn't stick another person in the house. People will soon be departing, however, and room will be freed up for new guests. Anyway, his next project will be to finish up the next chapter of New Beginning, then it's on to chapter seven of ID. Thank you to all of those who've stuck with him through all of this; he will be back to a regular writing schedule soon.


End file.
